Influence of solvent on the secondary structure of helical poly(N-propargyl-(1R)-camphor-10-sulfamide)

The influence of solvent on the geometrical and secondary structure of poly (N-propargyl-(1R)-camphor-10-sulfamide) (poly(1)) was investigated. H-1 NMR spectra of poly(1) measured in varied solvent and at varied temperature showed that solvent influenced the mobility of the polymer's main chain. Poly(1) adopted stable helices or disordered states in different solvents. Poly(1) could take helical conformation in toluene. Further characterization showed that hydrogen bond could form between the neighboring sulfamide groups. In mixed solvent comprising toluene and methanol, poly(1) underwent aggregation rather than taking helix when the content of methanol exceeded 40 vol %. In another binary solvent comprising DMSO and chloroform, poly(1) changed gradually from helical to disordered conformation with increasing the content of DMSO.