Synthesis of high‐performance polyurethanes with rigid 5‐6‐5‐fused ring system in the main chain from naturally occurring myo‐inositol

A bisketal of myo‐inositol was used as a diol‐type monomer for synthesis of polyurethanes. The monomer was obtained by treatment of myo‐inositol with 1,1‐dimethoxycyclohexane in the presence of p‐toluenesulfonic acid as a catalyst. The ketalization resulted in the formation of a 5‐6‐5‐fused ring system, which endowed the diol‐type monomer with high rigidity. The diol readily reacted with diisocyanate to give the corresponding polyurethane, which exhibited excellent heat resistance due to the rigid 5‐6‐5 system in the main chain. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013 , 51, 3956–3963     

Synthesis of hydroxyl‐bearing polyurethanes from naturally occurring myo‐inositol

A route from naturally occurring myo‐inositol to hydroxyl‐bearing polyurethanes has been developed. The diol prepared from the bis‐acetalization of myo‐inositol with 1,1‐dimethoxycyclohexane was reacted with a rigid diisocyanate, 1,3‐bis(isocyanatomethyl)cyclohexane to afford the corresponding polyurethane, of which glass transition temperature (T_g) was quite high as 192 °C. The polyurethane contains side chains inherited from the acetal moieties of the diol monomer and was treated with trifluoroacetic acid to hydrolyze the acetal moieties and afford the target polyurethane functionalized with hydroxyl groups. The presence of many hydroxyl groups in the side chains, which can form hydrogen bonds with each other, resulted in a high T_g, 186 °C. In addition, the hydroxyl groups were reacted with isocyanates to achieve further side‐chain modifications. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019, 57, 1358–1364     

Synthesis of oligo(spiroketal)s by polycondensation of silyl ethers derived from naturally occurring myo‐inositol with 1,4‐cyclohexanedione

Oligo(spiroketal)s (OSKs) were synthesized from myo‐inositol, a naturally occurring cyclic compound bearing six hydroxyl groups. The successful synthesis of OSKs was achieved using silyl ethers 2 derived from 1,4‐di‐O‐alkylated myo‐inositol 1 as monomers, which underwent polycondensation with 1,4‐cyclohexanedione (CHD) at 0 °C in the presence of trimethylsilyl triflate as a catalyst. Because of the irreversible nature of the condensation reaction of silyl ethers with ketones, the resulting OSKs 7 had higher molecular weights than previously reported OSKs that were obtained by polycondensation of tetraols 1 with CHD, where backward hydrolysis of the ketal functions occurred. In addition, another series of OSKs, 8, were synthesized using silyl ethers 3 derived from 2,5‐di‐O‐alkylated myo‐inositol 6 , which are more symmetric monomers than silyl ethers 2 . Silyl ethers 3 underwent efficient polycondensation with CHD, whereas tetraol 6 did not, demonstrating that the derivation of such tetraols into the corresponding silyl ethers is a powerful strategy to access OSKs. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019 , 57, 2407–2414     

Rigid triol and diol with adamantane‐like core derived from naturally occurring myo‐inositol and their polyaddition with diisocyanates

Two orthoester derivatives 1 and 2 that are easily accessible from naturally occurring myo‐inositol were exploited as new triol‐ and diol‐type monomers bearing a rigid adamantane‐like structure to polyaddition with diisocyanates that gave the corresponding networked and linear polyurethanes. DSC analysis of the networked polyurethanes revealed their high glass transition temperatures ranging from 155 to 248 °C, suggesting the contribution of the rigidity of the adamantane‐like structure introduced at the nodes of the networked polyurethanes 6. Besides, the polyaddition of 2 with diisocyanates gave the corresponding linear polyurethanes 4, of which glass transition temperatures were high, ranging from 105 to 177 °C, presumably by virtue of the rigidity of the adamantane‐like structure introduced into the main chains. T_gs of the networked polyurethanes 6 were higher than those of the linear polyurethanes 4. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 3498–3505     

A highly rigid diamine monomer derived from naturally occurring myo‐inositol and its use for polyamide synthesis

A rigid diamine was synthesized from myo‐inositol, a naturally occurring cyclic hexaol, and used as a monomer to synthesize polyamides. myo‐Inositol was treated with 1,1‐dimethoxycyclohexane to yield a bisketal bearing two hydroxyl groups, and from this bisketal, the target diamine was synthesized in three steps: (1) derivation of the diol into the corresponding bistriflate, (2) nucleophilic substitution of the bistriflate with sodium azide yielding a diazide, and (3) reduction of the diazide to the target diamine. The target diamine readily underwent polycondensation with dicarboxylic acid chloride in solution. The resulting polyamides, whose main chain inherited the rigid 5‐6‐5 system from the diamine monomers, have high glass transition temperatures. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 3436–3443     

Partially bio‐based tri‐ and hexaallyl monomers: Synthesis from naturally occurring myo‐inositol and polyaddition with dithiols

myo‐Inositol, a naturally occurring cyclic hexaol, was converted to 2,4,6‐tri‐O‐allyl‐myo‐inositol and 1,2,3,4,5,6‐hexa‐O‐allyl‐myo‐inositol. Polyaddition of the former product, a tri(allyl ether) bearing three hydroxyl groups, with dithiols yielded the corresponding networked polymers. Their glass transition temperatures (T_gs) were higher than those of networked polymers formed by the polyaddition of 1,3,5‐tri‐O‐methyl‐2,4,6‐tri‐O‐allyl‐myo‐inositol. This implied the reinforcement of the networks by hydrogen bonding between the hydroxyl groups. Polyaddition of the latter product, a hexa(allyl ether), with dithiols yielded the corresponding networked polymers with much higher T_gs than those of all of the aforementioned networked polymers. This implied that efficient use of the hexafunctional monomer leads to the formation of more densely crosslinked polymers. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55, 1524–1529     

Triallyl monomer bearing adamantane‐like core derived from naturally occurring myo‐inositol: Synthesis and polyaddition with dithiols

This paper deals with a triallyl monomer bearing a rigid adamantane‐like core derived from myo‐inositol, a naturally occurring cyclic hexaol. The core structure of the monomer can be readily constructed by orthoesterification of myo‐inositol. The polyaddition of the triallyl monomer with dithiols based on the thermally induced radical thiol‐ene reaction gives the corresponding networked polymers. These networked polymers exhibit much higher thermal stability than the comparative networked polymers obtained from a triallyl monomer bearing less rigid cyclohexyl core. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 1193–1199     

Synthesis and thermal crosslinking of oxazolidine‐functionalized polyurethanes

A new oxazolidine derivative was obtained from phenol, 2‐amino‐2‐methylpropane‐1,3‐diol and paraformaldehyde. The reaction of this novel oxazolidine diol with phenylisocyanate lead to a urethane model compound which can be polymerized thermally by oxazolidine ring opening to give a Mannich bridge structure. Linear segmented polyurethanes were prepared by reaction of different ratios of oxazolidine diol and commercial polyethylenglycol (M_w ～ 400) with 4,4′‐methylenbis (cyclohexylisocyanate) (HMDI, 90% isomers mixture). The polyurethanes were thermally characterized and crosslinked by oxazolidine ring opening to obtain materials which showed improved thermal stability. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 4965–4973, 2007     

Water‐mediated intermolecular interactions in 1,2‐O‐cyclohexylidene‐myo‐inositol: a quantitative analysis

The syntheses of new myo‐inositol derivatives have received much attention due to their important biological activities. 1,2‐O‐Cyclohexylidene‐myo‐inositol is an important intermediate formed during the syntheses of certain myo‐inositol derivatives. We report herein the crystal structure of 1,2‐O‐cyclohexylidene‐myo‐inositol dihydrate, C₁₂H₂₀O₆·2H₂O, which is an intermediate formed during the syntheses of myo‐inositol phosphate derivatives, to demonstrate the participation of water molecules and hydroxy groups in the formation of several intermolecular O—H…O interactions, and to determine a low‐energy conformation. The title myo‐inositol derivative crystallizes with two water molecules in the asymmetric unit in the space group C 2/c , with Z = 8. The water molecules facilitate the formation of an extensive O—H…O hydrogen‐bonding network that assists in the formation of a dense crystal packing. Furthermore, geometrical optimization and frequency analysis was carried out using density functional theory (DFT) calculations with B3LYP hybrid functionals and 6‐31G(d), 6‐31G(d,p) and 6‐311G(d,p) basis sets. The theoretical and experimental structures were found to be very similar, with only slight deviations. The intermolecular interactions were quantitatively analysed using Hirshfeld surface analysis and 2D (two‐dimensional) fingerplot plots, and the total lattice energy was calculated.     

BIAN‐Fe(η6‐C6H6): Synthesis,characterization, and l‐lactide polymerization

The α‐diimine‐ligated Fe‐complex, BIAN‐Fe(C₆H₆) , was synthesized and evaluated for the polymerization of l ‐lactide. Characterization of BIAN‐Fe(C₆H₆) reveals that it is redox non‐innocent and suggests that it is an Fe(I) species bearing a radical‐anionic ligand. We will demonstrate that BIAN‐Fe(C₆H₆) is active for the ring‐opening polymerization of l ‐lactide, and that polymer is produced with, or without, the use of an added external initiator. Interestingly, very high molecular weight polymers are produced in the absence of external initiator whereas polymer molecular weights that agree with theoretical calculations are produced in the presence of external initiator. To the best of our knowledge, BIAN‐Fe(C₆H₆) is the first Fe‐based α‐diimine catalyst reported to be active for the polymerization of l ‐lactide. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55, 2824–2830     

Clickable polyurethanes based on s‐triazine ring containing aromatic diisocyanate bearing pendent alkyne group: Synthesis and postmodification

A new s‐triazine ring containing aromatic diisocyanate bearing a pendent alkyne group, namely, 2,4‐bis(4‐isocyanatophenoxy)?6‐(prop‐2‐yn‐1‐yloxy)?1,3,5‐triazine was synthesized and reacted with various diols viz., 1,10‐decanediol, tetraethylene glycol and polyethylene glycols in the presence of dibutyltin dilaurate as the catalyst to obtain a series of linear polyurethanes. The selected polyurethanes possessing pendent alkyne groups were postmodified with chemically diverse azides viz., 1‐(azidomethyl)benzene, 1‐(azidomethyl)pyrene, and methoxy end‐caped poly(ethylene glycol) azide via copper‐catalysed azide‐alkyne Huisgen 1,3‐dipolar cycloaddition. FTIR and ¹H NMR spectra indicated quantitative click reaction. UV–vis and fluorescence spectroscopic analysis confirmed complete incorporation of pyrenyl groups indicating the formation of fluorescence active polyurethane by postmodification with 1‐(azidomethyl)pyrene. TG analysis of polyurethanes indicated two stage weight loss and their thermal stability, as judged by T ₁₀ values, was governed by weight percent of urethane linkages. The water contact angle measurements revealed improved wettability with increased content of PEG either in the backbone of polyurethanes or as grafted chains. DLS and TEM studies confirmed that certain polyurethanes possessing PEG segments displayed self‐assembly in aqueous solution, which was further supported by pyrene encapsulation studies using UV–vis spectroscopy. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55 , 1008–1020     

Ring Reconstruction on a Trichalcogenasumanene Buckybowl: A Facile Approach to Donor–Acceptor‐Type [5‐6‐7] Fused Planar Polyheterocycles

The transformation of trichalcogenasumanene buckybowls into donor–acceptor‐type [5‐6‐7] fused polyheterocycles is disclosed. The strategy involves a highly efficient ring‐opening of the flanking benzene upon oxidation at room temperature, and facile ring closure by functional‐group transformation. Crystallographic studies indicate that the resulting [5‐6‐7] fused polyheterocycles possess a planar conformation owing to the release of ring strain by expansion of one of the six‐membered flanking rings to the seven‐membered one. Additionally, the [5‐6‐7] fused polyheterocycles bear electron‐withdrawing groups, which reduce the HOMO–LUMO energy gap, and display broad absorption bands extending to λ=590 nm. Consequently, these compounds show strong red emission with fluorescence quantum yields of up to 38 %.     

Synthesis of a new 2‐amino‐glycan,poly‐(1→6)‐α‐D‐mannosamine,by ring‐opening polymerization of 1,6‐anhydro‐mannosamine derivatives

A stereoregular 2‐amino‐glycan composed of a mannosamine residue was prepared by ring‐opening polymerization of anhydro sugars. Two different monomers, 1,6‐anhydro‐2‐azido‐mannose derivative ( 3 ) and 1,6‐anhydro‐2‐(N, N‐dibenzylamino)‐mannose derivative ( 6 ), were synthesized and polymerized. Although 3 gave merely oligomers, 6 was promptly polymerized into high polymers of the number‐average molecular weight (M_n) of 2.3 × 10⁴ to 2.9 × 10⁴ with 1,6‐α stereoregularity. The differences of polymerizability of 3 and 6 from those of the corresponding glucose homologs were discussed. It was found that an N‐benzyl group is exceedingly suitable for protecting an amino group in the polymerization of anhydro sugars of a mannosamine type. The simultaneous removal of O‐ and N‐benzyl groups of the resulting polymers was achieved by using sodium in liquid ammonia to produce the first 2‐amino‐glycan, poly‐(1→6)‐α‐D ‐mannosamine, having high molecular weight through ring‐opening polymerization of anhydro sugars.© 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Radical polymerizations of two stereoisomeric trimethacrylates with rigid adamantane‐like cores from naturally occurring myo‐inositol

Two stereoisomeric trimethacrylates, T1 and T2 , which share a common adamantane‐like rigid core, were synthesized from naturally occurring myo‐inositol, and their radical polymerization behaviors were investigated. For the synthesis of T1 , myo‐inositol was converted to triol 1 , bearing one equatorial hydroxyl group and two axial hydroxyl groups, by orthoesterification, which was used as a precursor. For the synthesis of T2 , 1 was converted to triol 2 , bearing three axial hydroxyl groups, which was used as a precursor. Investigations on the radical polymerization of T1 and T2 , which potentially accompanies the cyclopolymerization of the axially oriented methacrylate moieties, revealed significant differences between the two. (1) The polymerization of T1 affords networked and thus insoluble polymers PT1 , while that of T2 affords less crosslinked and thus soluble polymers PT2 . (2) The amount of residual methacrylate moieties was larger in PT2 than in PT1 . (3) PT2 had higher thermal stability than PT1 , though PT2 contained a larger amount of unreacted methacrylate moieties. These tendencies were successfully correlated with the difference in cyclopolymerization efficiency between the polymerizations of the two monomers. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2018 , 56, 1743–1748     

Triple responsive block copolymers combining pH‐responsive,thermoresponsive, and glucose‐responsive behaviors

Polymers with multiple tunable responses were achieved by incorporating boronic acid functionality along the backbone of a thermoresponsive polymer. The inherent Lewis acidity and diol‐sensitivity of boronic acid moieties allowed these polymers to respond to changes in pH and glucose concentration. Through reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer copolymerization of boronic acid‐containing monomers with N‐isopropylacrylamide, well‐defined block copolymers were synthesized containing a hydrophilic N,N‐dimethylacrylamide block and a second, responsive block with temperature‐dependent water solubility, making the resulting polymers capable of self‐assembly into nanostructures upon heating. By incorporating boronic acids within the thermoresponsive block, the cloud point of the polymer depended on the solution conditions, including pH and diol concentration, allowing tunable cloud point ranges. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55, 2309–2317     

Acid‐promoted double ring‐opening reaction of bicyclobis (γ‐butyrolactone) with alcohol and its application to polyester synthesis

Bicyclobis(γ‐butyrolactone) (BBL) bearing methyl group 1a reacted with benzyl alcohol (BnOH) in the presence of p‐toluenesulfonic acid (p‐TsOH) through the double ring‐opening of the bislactone structure to afford the corresponding adduct 2a bearing carboxyl group. The resulting carboxyl group underwent condensation with BnOH to afford the corresponding diester 3a . The second step was quite slow at ambient temperature; however, it was efficiently accelerated by elevating temperature to 120 °C or performing under reduced pressure at 80 °C to afford 3a in an excellent yield. Based on these results, the reaction of 1a with xylene‐α,α‐diol (XyD) was carried out in chlorobenzene at 120 °C to obtain the corresponding polyester bearing ketone group in the side chain. The condensation reaction in the second step was effectively promoted by simultaneous removal of water under reduced pressure. BBLs 1b and 1c bearing reactive groups, isopropenyl and chloromethyl, respectively, were also employed as monomers efficiently. Their reactions with XyD gave the corresponding reactive polyesters bearing methacryloyl and chloroacetyl moieties, respectively. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Polyaddition of bifunctional 1,3‐benzoxazine and 2‐methylresorcinol

A polyaddition system consisted of a bifunctional N‐n‐propyl benzoxazine and 2‐methylresorcinol ( MR ) that proceeds at ambient temperature has been developed. In this system, the aromatic ring of MR acted as a bifunctional monomer, reacting with a two equivalent amount of benzoxazine moieties via their ring‐opening reaction. The polyaddition gave the corresponding linear polymer bearing phenolic moieties bridged by Mannich‐type linkage in the main chain. The linear polymer had a high glass transition temperature, which was comparable to that of the linear polybenzoxazine synthesized by the ring‐opening polymerization of a monofunctional N‐n‐propyl benzoxazine. The employment of a bifunctional N‐allyl benzoxazine in the polyaddition system resulted in the formation of the corresponding polymer with allyl pendants, which exhibited improved heat resistance due to its thermally induced crosslinking reaction. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013 , 51, 3867–3872     

Comparison of racemic epi‐inosose and (−)‐epi‐inosose

The conversion of myo‐inositol to epi‐inositol can be achieved by the hydride reduction of an intermediate epi‐inosose derived from myo‐inositol. (−)‐epi‐Inosose, (I), crystallized in the monoclinic space group P2₁, with two independent molecules in the asymmetric unit [Hosomi et al. (2000). Acta Cryst. C 56 , e584–e585]. On the other hand, (2RS,3SR,5SR,6SR)‐epi‐inosose, C₆H₁₀O₆, (II), crystallized in the orthorhombic space group Pca2₁. Interestingly, the conformation of the molecules in the two structures is nearly the same, the only difference being the orientation of the C‐3 and C‐4 hydroxy H atoms. As a result, the molecular organization achieved mainly through strong O—H...O hydrogen bonding in the racemic and homochiral lattices is similar. The compound also follows Wallach's rule, in that the racemic crystals are denser than the optically active form.     

Synthesis and characterization of block poly(ester‐ether‐urethane)s from bacterial poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate) oligomers

Telechelic hydroxylated poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate) (PHB‐diol) oligomers have been successfully synthesized in 90–95% yield from high molar mass PHB by tin‐catalyzed alcoholysis with different diols (mainly 1,4‐butanediol) in diglyme. The PHB‐diol oligomers structure was studied by nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy MALDI‐ToF MS, and size exclusion chromatography, whereas their crystalline structures, thermal properties and thermal stability were analyzed by wide angle X‐ray scattering, DSC, and thermogravimetric analyses. The kinetic of the alcoholysis was studied and the influence of (i) the catalyst amount, (ii) the diol amount, (iii) the reaction temperature, and (iv) the diol chain length on the molar mass was discussed. The influence of the PHB‐diol molar mass on the thermal stability, the thermal properties and optical properties was investigated. Then, tin‐catalyzed poly(ester‐ether‐urethane)s (PEEU) of M_n = 15,000–20,000 g/mol were synthesized in 1,2‐dichloroethane from PHB‐diol oligomers (P_ester) with modified 4,4'‐MDI and different polyether‐diols (P_ether) (PEG‐2000, PEG‐4000, and PPG‐PEG‐PPG). The influence of the PHB‐diol chain length, the P_ether/P_ester ratio, the polyether segment nature and the PEG chain length on the thermal properties and crystalline structures of PEEUs was particularly discussed. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55, 1949–1961     

Synthesis and radical ring‐opening polymerization of vinylcyclopropanes derived from amino acids with hydrophobic moieties

Six 1,1‐disubstituted vinylcyclopropanes (VCP) were synthesized from glycine and amino acids bearing hydrophobic moieties, l ‐alanine, l ‐valine, l ‐leucine, l ‐isoleucine, and l ‐phenylalanine. These VCP derivatives efficiently underwent radical ring‐opening polymerization to afford the corresponding polymers bearing trans‐vinylene moiety in the main chains and the amino acid‐derived chiral moieties in the side chains. The polymers were film‐formable, and in the films of polymers bearing the glycine‐ and alanine‐derived side chains, presence of hydrogen bonding was confirmed by IR analysis. Thermogravimetric analysis of the polymers revealed that the temperatures of 5% weight loss were higher than 300 °C. Differential scanning calorimetry clarified that the polymers were amorphous ones showing glass transition temperatures in a range of 48–80 °C. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55, 3996–4002