Exploring the Application of Electrochemical Stimulus to Dynamic Disulfide Based Polymers

Dynamic polymers incorporating disulfide bonds have been studied on account of the wide range of available stimuli that can be used to break the bond and induced dynamic bond exchange, such as heat, light, and base. However, the application of voltage as an electrochemical stimulus has been largely unexplored. Here, this talk will focus on how we are leveraging the electrochemical properties of disulfide-based polymer particles to demonstrate unique adaptive functionality. Specifically we have synthesized poly(glycidyl methacrylate) microparticles crosslinked with redox-responsive bis(5-amino-l,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl) disulfide moieties (DS) to yield redox active particles (DS-RAPs). The resulting DS-RAPs show improved electrochemical reversibility compared to a small molecule disulfide analogue in solution, attributed to spatial confinement of the polymer-grafted disulfides in the particle. Moreover, by taking advantage of the electrochemical stimulus response, we have shown DS-RAPs particles can be cleaned from a fouled electrode surface under reductive potential and convective fluid flow, and thus introducing an innovative particle design strategy with intrinsic cleaning functionality. Lastly, the electrochemical stimulus-response and the resulting controlled electrolyte swelling has opened up a new pathway for responsive colloidal particles in solution. Overall, the novelty of this work focuses on the application electrochemical stimulus to drive the redox reactivity and dynamic nature of the DS-RAPs to enable unique functionality.