Continuous production of hyperbranched polyhydrocarbons by electrochemical polymerization of chlorinated methanes

A continuous production of polyhydrocarbon (PHC) by electrochemical polymerization of chlorinated hydrocarbons is presented. Monomer loading and product transfer were controlled by changing flow direction in a home-built continuous flow system that facilitates preparation, work-up, and scale-up of electrochemical polymerization. The polymerization can be tuned by adjusting reaction time, cell configuration, molar ratio of input chemicals, and the solvent type. CH 2 Cl 2 , CHCl 3 , and CCl 4 were used to synthesize PHC. The reduction of the monomers at the cathode was studied by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. We investigated the structure and composition of PHCs from FT-IR and NMR spectra along with elemental analysis. Sufficient amounts of product are generated by continuous production and characterization of the product PHCs by a wide variety of methods is possible. Particularly, structural analysis by various 13 C NMR techniques suggests a new pathway for the synthesis of hyperbranched PHCs by electrochemical polymerization. Continuous production of polyhydrocarbon (PHC) by electrochemical polymerization of chlorinated methanes: Monomer loading/product transfer in a home-built flow system operating in inert environment, for scaled up synthesis of sufficient PHC product.