We report the hydrothermally enhanced hydrolysis of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) in neutral water, which generates photoluminescent polymers with low unsaturation degrees. Despite the hydrophobic nature of PAN, the product can be dissolved in water at a high concentration (≥100 g/L). The product exhibits complete absence of alkenes or aromatic structures, and photoluminescence originates from newly formed N- and O-containing groups. The presence of both n to π* and π to π* transitions is confirmed by time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations. The efficient transformation of PAN benefits from the enhanced hydrolysis of nitrile groups. While similar reactions have been reported previously under alkaline environments, we demonstrate that efficient hydrolysis can also occur in neutral water under the hydrothermal condition. Two additional methods based on different mechanisms are discussed to demonstrate the simplicity and efficiency of the hydrothermal reaction.

中文翻译：

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聚丙烯腈在中性水中水热水解的无多烯光致发光聚合物

我们报告了聚丙烯腈 (PAN) 在中性水中的水热增强水解，生成了低不饱和度的光致发光聚合物。尽管 PAN 具有疏水性，但该产品可以以高浓度 (≥100 g/L) 溶解在水中。该产品完全没有烯烃或芳香结构，并且光致发光源自新形成的含 N 和 O 基团。两个n的存在到 π* 和 π 到 π* 的跃迁通过时间相关的密度泛函理论 (TD-DFT) 计算得到证实。PAN 的有效转化得益于腈基的水解增强。虽然之前在碱性环境下已经报道了类似的反应，但我们证明在水热条件下中性水中也可以发生有效的水解。讨论了基于不同机制的另外两种方法，以证明水热反应的简单性和效率。