Organic chemistry

Polymer chemistry

FLEX

Biology

Adduct

Catalysis

Chemistry

Materials science

Carbodiimide

Carbene

Modularity (biology)

Computer science

Genetics

Telecommunications

Angewandte Chemie International Edition

We have discovered a new flex‐activated mechanophore that releases an N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC) under mechanical load. The mechanophore design is based upon NHC‐carbodiimide (NHC‐CDI) adducts and demonstrates an important first step toward flex‐activated designs capable of further downstream reactivities. Since the flex‐activation is non‐destructive to the main polymer chains, the material can be subjected to multiple compression cycles to achieve iterative increases in the activation percentage of mechanophores. Two different NHC structures were demonstrated, signifying the potential modularity of the mechanophore design.

Mechanochemical Release of <i>N</i>‐Heterocyclic Carbenes from Flex‐Activated Mechanophores

Mechanochemical Release of N‐Heterocyclic Carbenes from Flex‐Activated Mechanophores