Polymer Mechanochemistry and its Relation to Green Chemistry

Mechanical force is transmitted through molecules and therefore the interaction between such molecules defines the material׳s response. In polymers, as molecules are very large, segmental translation leads to intramolecular stress, which can lead to chemical bond scission. In this chapter, we describe these mechanochemical transformations, which are typically different from those in small molecules, but caused from the same physics happening at the nanoscopic level. These reactions are behind the mechanical aging in plastics and other polymer materials, but in the past two decades have been exploited by scientists to start targeting some useful applications, including green chemistry.