Separation of polyethylene glycols and maleimide‐terminated polyethylene glycols by reversed‐phase liquid chromatography under critical conditions

The separation of polyethylene glycols and maleimide‐substituted polyethylene glycol derivatives based on the number of maleimide end‐groups under critical liquid chromatography conditions has been investigated on a reversed‐phase column. The critical solvent compositions for nonfunctional polyethylene glycols and bifunctional maleimide‐substituted polyethylene glycols were determined to be identical at about 40% acetonitrile in water on a reversed‐phase octadecyl carbon chain‐bonded silica column using mixtures of acetonitrile and water of varying composition as the mobile phase at 25°C. The maleimide‐functionalized polyethylene glycols were successfully separated according to maleimide functionality (with zero, one, two, or three maleimide end‐groups, respectively) under the critical isocratic elution conditions without obvious effect of molar mass. The separation was mainly due to the hydrophobic interaction between the maleimide end‐groups and the column packing. Off‐line matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry was used to identify the repeating units and, especially, the end‐groups of the maleimide‐substituted polyethylene glycols. Liquid chromatography analysis at critical conditions could provide useful information to optimize the synthesis of functional polyethylene glycols. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the baseline separation of maleimide‐functionalized polyethylene glycols based on the functionality independent of the molar mass without derivatization by isocratic elution.     

Surface Grafting of Phenolic Resole onto LDPE Films

Many studies on surface modification of polymeric membranes have been reported. For example, acrylic acid(shorted as AA) and acrylamide monomers were grafted onto polyethylene, polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate films in order to minimize the in…     

Hyperbranched modification of unsaturated side chains of polyethylene introduced by γ-ray irradiation under a 1,3-butadiene atmosphere

 Amino and other functional groups were introduced to a polyethylene substrate starting from the unsaturated pendant and bridge groups (collectively called side chains) of polyethylene, which had been prepared by γ-ray irradiation under an atmosphere of 1,3-butadiene of the polyethylene substrate (the drawn film of ultra-high- molecular-weight polyethylene, Mˉv: 5 × 10⁶). 2-Aminoethylamino groups were introduced to the side chains through treatment either with bromine or with peracetic acid vapor followed by immersion in ethylenediamine. Introduction of amino groups were confirmed by Fourier transform IR spectrometry, ninhydrin test, and acid–base titration. Starting from 2-aminoethylaminated polyethylene, modification cycles to grow a dendrimer on the film were applied; these consisted of 2-methoxycarbonylethylation and 2-aminoethylamidation. This technique resulted in hyperbranched modification of the polymer. The product is a kind of dendrimer grown on the surface of polyethylene film with amplified amino ends and has anion-exchange capacity and absorbs acid dye. Its application in practical uses is discussed. Received: 31 March 2000 Accepted: 2 January 2001     

Surface modification. I. Polyacrolein microspheres covalently bonded onto polyethylene

The synthesis and characterization of novel surfaces composed of polyacrolein microspheres covalently bonded onto polyethylene films are described. These surfaces were prepared through a sequence of reactions carried out onto polyethylene films in order to form primary amine groups at the w position. Polyacrolein microspheres in water were then covalently bonded to these modified polyethylene surfaces. The binding between the microspheres and the modified surfaces is due to the interaction between the aldehyde groups of the microspheres and the amine groups of the modified surfaces to form the polyvalent Schiff base bonds. Fourier transform-infrared/attenuated total reflection, electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis, contact angle measurements, and scanning electron microscopy have been used for the characterization of the modified polyethylene surfaces.     

Synthesis of Polyethylene Containing Allene Groups: A Simple and Efficient Route to Functional Polyethylene

Allene groups are first employed as the reactive moiety in the simple and efficient synthesis of well‐defined functional polyethylene. By copolymerization of ethylene with allene group substituted norbornene, the allene group is successfully introduced into the polyethylene with a high content. The retained allene groups are demonstrated to be highly reactive in following photoinduced functionalized reactions and can be efficiently converted into the functional groups without the multi‐step, time consuming processes that have generally been required in previous reports, providing the side group‐functionalized polyethylene with a wide range of functional group content.     

Affinity partitioning of proteins in aqueous two-phase systems containing polymer-bound fatty acids. I. Effect of polyethylene glycol palmitate on the partition of human serum albumin and alpha-lactalbumin

The partition of serum albumin between the two aqueous phases of a polyethylene glycol-dextran-water two-phase system is strongly influenced by replacing a small fraction of the polyethylene glycol by its palmitate ester. The partition of albumin is compared with the partition of polymer-bound palmitate using polyethylene glycol [1-14C]palmitate. The data indicate that a maximum ("saturation") effect on the partition of albumin corresponds to a binding of fewer than two palmitate groups per albumin molecule. The effect on alpha-lactalbumin corresponds to the maximum binding of 0.5 palmitate group per protein molecule. These data do not fit the most favoured available model for affinity partitioning. The deviation can be attributed to the observation that the palmitate groups probably form micelle-type aggregates in the polyethylene glycol-rich phase at the concentrations used for albumin extraction.     

Catalytic oxidative degradation of polyethylene crystals

Linear polyethylene crystals have been degraded with oxygen in the presence of a catalyst composed of cobaltous and bromide ions at temperatures between 60 and 130°. The number of carbonyl groups introduced into polyethylene increases as the oxidation temperature is raised. Infra-red spectroscopy and molecular weight evidence suggests that ketone groups are formed by a non-chain scission reaction, whereas aldehyde and carboxylic acid groups result from chain scission reactions. Molecular weight distributions of the degradation products show that reactions occur selectively in the amorphous regions at the crystal surfaces, when oxidations are performed below 110°. At higher temperatures, the chains are degraded randomly. The carbonyl groups introduced into polyethylene were oxidized to carboxylic acid groups with concentrated (～ 70 per cent) nitric acid. The results demonstrate that this two-stage process yields a polydisperse long-chain linear paraffin with carboxylic acid end-groups, when the catalytic oxidations are performed between 115 and 130°.     

Sulfur modification of polyethylene surfaces. III. Frustrated multiple internal reflection spectroscopy of sulfonated polyethylene surfaces

The previous publications of this series show by indirect means that atomic sulfur inserts into the carbon—hydrogen bonds of polyethylene surfaces. In this study, frustrated multiple internal reflection (FMIR) spectroscopy was used to obtain direct evidence of the nature of the surface groups of the modified polyethylene. The FMIR spectra of surfaces consisting of the products of sulfonic acid groups were virtually identical, regardless of whether the original sulfonic acid surface had been prepared by direct sulfonation or by oxidation of surface thiol groups. The latter groups resulted from the insertion of atomic sulfur into the carbon—hydrogen bonds of the surface. These results establish that sulfur is indeed inserted into polyethylene surfaces.     

Identifying crosslinks in polyethylene following gamma-irradiation in acetylene: A model compound study

Long-chain linear alkanes have been used as model compounds for polyethylene in an attempt to identify the chemical nature of crosslinks formed in polyethylene when it undergoes γ-irradiation in the presence of acetylene. IR and UV spectral analysis of alkanes and polyethylene following acetylene-sensitized irradiation shows the formation of vinyl, trans-vinylene, and diene groups. A correlation of the conditions of formation suggests that in polyethylene the vinyl groups are restricted to amorphous regions, diene groups are restricted to the crystalline regions, and trans-vinylene groups are formed in both regions. There is no information on the nature of crosslinks. ¹³C-NMR analysis of alkanes following irradiation of molten alkanes in the presence of ¹³C-enriched acetylene has shown that a range of saturated alphatic structures are formed by inclusion of acetylene molecules in the alkane structure. They include ethyl branches, γ-branches, CH(CH₃) , and  CH₂ CH₂ branches as the major species; the latter two are potential crosslink sites in the irradiation of polyethylene. In addition, the NMR analysis confirmed that the C atoms of the vinyl groups come from acetylene molecules and those of the trans-vinylene groups come from alkane molecules. Data on irradiation of the alkanes in the crystalline state showed that acetylene inclusion in the alkane structure is minimal under these conditions. The principal finding of this work is that acetylene can be incorporated as saturated aliphatic crosslinks in the amorphous regions of polyethylene during high-energy irradiation. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 35: 1549–1561, 1997     

13C NMR study of the intermolecular interactions in the polyethylene glycol-cellulose acetate-solvent system

As a result of measuring the spin-lattice relaxation rates of¹³C nuclei of polyethylene glycol in different solvents in the presence of cellulose acetates, it was found that polyethylene glycol forms H complexes with cellulose acetate in nonaqueous solvents, and the probability of binding increases with a decrease in the molecular weight of the polyethylene glycol. The formation of H complexes results in an effect of inversion of the mobility of the polyethylene glycol molecules of different weights in concentrated solutions of a mixture of polymers. The value of the effect is determined by the donor-acceptor properties of the solvent and the degree of substitution of hydroxyl groups by acetate groups.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 8, pp. 1766–1768, August, 1989.     

Ketene functionalized polyethylene: control of cross-link density and material properties

The functionalization and cross-linking of polyethylene is synthetically challenging, commonly relying on highly optimized radical based postpolymerization strategies. To address these difficulties, a norbornene monomer containing Meldrum's acid is shown to be effectively copolymerized with polyethylene using a nickel α-iminocarbaxamidato complex, providing high-melting, semicrystalline polymers with a tunable incorporation of the functional comonomer. Upon heating the copolymer to common polyethylene processing temperatures, the thermolysis of Meldrum's acid to ketene provides the desired reactive group. This simple and versatile methodology does not require small molecule radical sources or catalysts, and the dimerization of the in situ generated ketenes is shown to provide tunable cross-linking densities in polyethylene. Subsequent rheological and tensile experiments illustrate the ability to tune cross-linked polyethylene properties by comonomer incorporation and elucidate valuable structure/property relationships in these materials. This study illustrates the power of well-defined and synthetically accessible functional groups in polyolefin synthesis and functionalization.     

Sulfur modification of polyethylene surfaces. II. Modification of polyethylene surfaces with fuming sulfuric acid

Previous work has shown that atomic sulfur irreversibility modifies polyethylene, presumably through an insertion reaction into carbon—hydrogen bonds with formation of surface thiol groups. The thiol groups were then oxidized to sulfonic acid surface groups, which were further reacted chemically as shown by wettability measurements. In this work the thiol group was bypassed and the surface sulfonic acid groups were obtained by exposing the polyethylene surface directly to fuming sulfuric acid. The sulfonic acid groups were reacted further. Critical surface tension values identical with those in the previous work with atomic sulfur were obtained, thus substantiating the previous work.     

Grafting of polyethylene powder by vinyl monomers in heterogeneous systems

Polyethylene powder bearing hydroperoxide groups was used for grafting of different monomers in aqueous and nonaqueous media. Polymerization of methyl methacrylate in the matrix of photooxidized polyethylene proved to be a sensitive method for detection of early stages of photodegradation. A new redox-initiation system was developed for grafting of vinyl chloride onto hydroperoxidized polyethylene powder.     

聚乙二醇支载的螺吡喃类光致变色化合物的合成及其逆光致变色性质

采用DCC缩合的方法,将吲哚啉螺苯并吡喃的衍生物和聚乙二醇相缩合,以聚乙二醇末端的羟基和吲哚啉螺苯并吡喃衍生物的羧基为反应活性基团,实现了带有羧基的螺吡喃类光致变色化合物支载到了聚乙二醇两端.通过引入亲水基团得到了水溶性较好的螺环类光致变色化合物.通过对产物的紫外-可见光谱的研究发现,产物具有良好的光致变色性质,在乙醇、丙酮和乙酸乙酯中皆具有良好的光致生色现象;产物可溶于水,在紫外光(波长365nm)照射时产生了光消色现象,具有明显的逆光致变色性质.该方法原料易得,反应条件容易控制,为光致变色新材料的研究和开发提供了新方法.     

Physico-chemical aspects of polyethylene processing in an open mixer. Part 22: Mechanisms and kinetics of vinyl and vinylidene group consumption

The reactions of vinyl and vinylidene groups in oxidizing polyethylene melts are partly unexpected. The main possibilities of consumption that can be envisaged are reactions with peroxy radicals, molecular oxygen, hydroperoxides and peracids. These different reactions can all contribute to some extent to the removal of vinyl and vinylidene groups. However, the dominant reactions are quite specific for the two unsaturated groups and the temperature range. Consumption of vinylidene groups results mainly from reaction with peroxy radicals and with hydroperoxides. It decreases significantly in the high temperature range in which the hydroperoxides do not accumulate. Reaction with hydroperoxides seems also to be the dominant reaction removing vinyl groups in polyethylene melts at low temperature. The reaction with peroxy radicals seems negligible in the whole temperature range of the experiments. The increasing consumption rates in the high temperature range are attributed to dimerisation involving two vinyl groups. The same reaction is thought to account for molecular enlargement in polyethylene types with significant amounts of vinyl groups. In this respect it complements macro-alkyl radical addition to vinyl groups. The contributions of the two mechanisms to molecular enlargement are discussed.     

PE/wax blends: interesting observations

The thermal and mechanical properties of different cross-linked and uncross-linked polyethylene/wax blends were investigated over a period of time. This paper summarizes the results and observations. It was found that (i) both LLDPE and LDPE cross-links in the presence of low dicumyl peroxide concentrations, while wax only grafts onto the polyethylene chains, (ii) polyethylene and wax have relatively good miscibility, (iii) both wax content and cross-linking change the mechanical properties of polyethylene in one way or the other, (iv) the route of sample preparation has a marked influence on the thermal and mechanical properties of the blends, and (v) oxygen-containing groups in oxidised wax apparently do not change the way in which the wax interacts with polyethylene.     

聚乙烯共混物的相容性及液-液相分离

综述了聚乙共混物的相容性及液－液相分离行为,介绍了关于液－液相分离研究两派不同观点的实验条件、实验现象和主要结论。     

铁系亚胺基吡啶复配催化乙烯原位共聚产物的表征

Branched polyethylene from ethylene as single monomer was prepared by the tandem catalyst system of {2-[2-Me C6 H4 N=Me)]2 C5H3N} FeCl2 (1) and {2,6-[1-(2,6-Me2-4-Br-C6H4N=(Me)]2C5H3N} FeCl2 (2) activated with methylaluminoxane (MAO) . The products of polymerization were characterized by DSC, GPC and ^13C-NMR. The results revealed that the copolymer produced by in situ copolymerization of ethylene was a mixture of branched polyethylene and α-olefin. The content of α-olefin in the mixture was increased with increasing the molar ratio of catalysts 1/2. The MWD paramelers of polyethylene and copolymer were 28.6 and 7.9, respectively. ^13C-NMR spectra showed that there were ethyl groups, butyl groups and long chain alkyl groups in the copolymer. The average degree of branching of such branched polyethylene was less than 5C/1000C.     

Acid treatment for functionalizing polyethylene fiber surfaces for enhanced adhesion to epoxy resins

The utility of high-strength, high-modulus polyethylene fibers in fiber-reinforced composites is limited due to its poor interfacial adhesion to various polymeric matrices. One way to overcome this limitation is to introduce reactive functionalities on the fiber surface capable of covalently bonding to matrix resins. Ultra high-strength polyethylene (UHSPE) fibers were treated with chlorosulfonic acid. The surface acid groups were found to considerably improve the interfacial adhesion between polyethylene fibers and epoxy resins as shown by the microbond test. These surface functionalities were found to improve the fiber wettability, as shown by contact angle measurements using the Wilhelmy balance method. Colorimetric measurements of methylene blue absorption were used to quantify the surface concentrations of the acid groups. It was possible to functionalize the UHSPE fiber surfaces using this method to obtain fibers that formed a stronger adhesive bond with epoxy resins; this was achievable without sacrificing other fiber mechanical properties.     

过硫酸铵水溶液对聚乙烯表面作用的研究

本文利用X光电子能谱(XPS)及其它技术对过硫酸铵水溶液处理聚乙烯表面改进粘合性的作用机理进行了研究。结果表明,过硫酸铵的氧化作用使聚乙烯表面引入酮、醛、羧基等含氧基团,使其粘合强度显著提高。高密度聚乙烯表面的氧化深度小于40,低密度聚乙烯的均匀氧化深度在40—90之间。处理后的聚乙烯表面未发现明显的交联产物。