Infrared thermographic analysis on copolymerization of spiroorthoester with oxetane

Infrared (IR) thermography was employed to monitor temperature changes during the copolymerization of a spiroorthoester monomer with an oxetane monomer initiated with a benzyl sulfonium salt. The temperature changes in the polymerizations decreased with the increase of the initial feed ratios of the spiroorthocarbonate monomer. For instance, the temperature in the copolymerization of the equimolar mixture of both of the monomers increased only ～1 °C, whereas that in the homopolymerization of the oxetane monomer increased more than 20 °C. This result indicates that the copolymerization employing spiroorthocarbonate monomers effectively suppress temperature increase, which are responsible to shrinkage during cooling. The suppression of polymerization shrinkage by spiroorthocarbonate was also confirmed by density measurement of the polymers using a gas pycnometer. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 1388–1393, 2007.     

Oxetane‐terminated telechelic epoxy‐functional polyesters as cationically polymerizable thermoset resins: Tuning the reactivity with structural design

A series of epoxy‐functional telechelic oligomers containing oxetane end groups have been synthesized. The precursor monomer, extracted from outer Birch bark, was first polymerized through enzyme‐catalyzed esterification to form oligomers having epoxy and/or oxetane groups in the structures. The oligoesters were subsequently crosslinked through cationic polymerization either by epoxy or oxetane homopolymerization or copolymerization when both functionalities were present. A study of the polymerizations of the resins was performed “in situ” using real‐time Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealing a preferred copolymerization when compared with the homopolymerization. By tailoring the different structures, it was possible to control the final mechanical properties of the networks. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 2258–2266     

Synthesis of polyesters with pendant oxetane groups by the chemoselective alternating copolymerization of 3‐ethyl‐3‐(glycidyloxymethyl)oxetane with carboxylic anhydride and its photochemical reaction

The synthesis of polyesters with pendant oxetane groups by the chemoselective alternating copolymerization of 3‐ethyl‐3‐(glycidyloxymethyl)oxetane (EGMO) with carboxylic anhydride and the photochemical reaction of the resulting polymer was examined. The alternating copolymerization of EGMO with phthalic anhydride proceeded chemoselectively with quaternary onium salts under appropriate reaction conditions, and the corresponding soluble polymers with pendant oxetane groups with number‐average molecular weights of 4700–7200 were obtained in 72–87% yields. Furthermore, the photochemical reaction of the resulting polymers was examined with certain photoacid generators in the film state upon UV irradiation, and it was found that the photocrosslinking reaction of the pendant oxetane groups proceeded smoothly to give the insoluble polymers. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 1952–1961, 2003     

Synthesis and cationic ring‐opening polymerization of oxetane monomer containing five‐membered cyclic carbonate moiety via highly chemoselective addition of CO2

The bicyclic amidinium iodide effectively catalyzed the reaction of carbon dioxide and the epoxy‐containing oxetane under ordinary pressure and mild conditions with high chemoselectivity to give the corresponding oxetane monomer containing five‐membered cyclic carbonate quantitatively. The cationic ring‐opening polymerization of the obtained monomer by boron trifluoride diethyl ether proceeded to give linear polyoxetane bearing five‐membered cyclic carbonate pendant group in high yield. The molecular weight of the polyoxetane was higher than that of polyepoxide obtained by the cationic ring‐opening polymerization of epoxide monomer containing five‐membered cyclic carbonate. The cyclic carbonate functional crosslinked polyoxetanes were also synthesized by the cationic ring‐opening copolymerization of cyclic carbonate having oxetane and commercially available bisoxetane monomers. Analyses of the resulting polyoxetanes were performed by proton nuclear magnetic resonance, size exclusion chromatography, thermogravimetric analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019 , 57, 2606–2615     

Hybrid free radical/cationic frontal photopolymerizations

The irradiation of hybrid photopolymer systems consisting of a free radically polymerizable multifunctional acrylate monomer and a cationically polymerizable epoxide or oxetane monomer was conducted under conditions where only the free radical polymerization takes place. This results in the formation of a free‐standing polyacrylate network film containing quiescent oxonium ions along with the unreacted cyclic ether monomer. The subsequent application of a point source of heat to the film ignites a cationic ring‐opening frontal polymerization that emanates from that site and propagates to all portions of the irradiated sample. This article examines the impact of various molecular structural and experimental parameters on these novel hybrid frontal polymerizations that produce interpenetrating network polymers. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 4331–4340, 2007     

Synthesis of multihydroxyl branched polyethers by cationic copolymerization of 3,3‐bis(hydroxymethyl)oxetane and 3‐ethyl‐3‐(hydroxymethyl)oxetane

The cationic ring‐opening polymerization of 3,3‐bis(hydroxymethyl)oxetane (BHMO) and the copolymerization of BHMO with 3‐ethyl‐3‐(hydroxymethyl)oxetane (EOX) were studied. Medium molecular weight polymers (number‐average molecular weight ≈ 2 × 10³) were obtained in bulk polymerization. Poly[3,3‐bis(hydroxymethyl)oxetane], as highly insoluble, was only characterized by gel permeation chromatography and NMR methods in the esterified form. Copolymers of BHMO and EOX that were slightly soluble in organic solvents were characterized in more detail. In a copolymerization from a 1:1 mixture, the comonomers were consumed at equal rates. Matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight analysis confirmed that a random 1:1 copolymer was formed. ¹³C NMR analysis indicated that in contrast to previously described homopolymers of EOX in which the degree of branching was limited, the homopolymers of BHMO were highly branched. This pattern was preserved in the copolymers; EOX units were predominantly linear, whereas BHMO units were predominantly branched. The copolymerization of BHMO with EOX provides, therefore, a route to multihydroxyl branched‐polyethers with various degrees of branching containing ? OH groups exclusively as ≡C? CH₂? OH units. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 1991–2002, 2002     

Ambient temperature ATRP of benzyl methacrylate as a tool for the synthesis of block copolymers with styrene

The rapid atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of benzyl methacrylate (BnMA) at ambient temperature was used to synthesize block copolymers with styrene as the second monomer. Various block copolymers such as AB diblock, BAB symmetric and asymmetric triblock, and ABABA pentablock copolymers were synthesized in which the polymerization of one of the blocks namely BnMA was performed at ambient temperature. It is demonstrated that the block copolymerization can be performed in a controlled manner, regardless of the sequence of monomer addition via halogen exchange technique. Using this reaction condition, the composition (ratio) of one block (here BnMA) can be varied from 1 to 100. It is further demonstrated that in the multiblock copolymer syntheses involving styrene and benzyl methacrylate, it is better to start from the PS macroinitiator compared with PBnMA macroinitiator. The polymers synthesized are relatively narrow dispersed (<1.5). It is identified that the ATRP of BnMA is limited to certain molecular weights of the PS macroinitiator. Additionally, a preliminary report about the synthesis of the block copolymer of BnMA‐methyl methacrylate (MMA), both at ambient temperature, is demonstrated. Subsequent deprotection of the benzyl group using Pd/C? H₂ results in methacrylic acid (MAA)–methyl methacrylate (MAA–MMA) amphiphilic block copolymer. GPC, IR, and NMR are used to characterize the synthesized polymers. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 2848–2861, 2006     

Synthesis of highly reactive polyisobutylenes using solvent‐ligated manganese(II) complexes as catalysts

Manganese complexes with benzonitrile ligands were synthesized, characterized, and applied for the preparation of the isobutylene polymerization. Low and medium molecular weight polyisobutylenes containing high amount of exo‐type double bond end groups (70–80%) were successfully prepared using these manganese(II) complexes as catalysts at room temperature. The influence of monomer and catalyst concentration was intensively analyzed for achieving high monomer conversion and high exo double bond content of the products. Details on end group distribution in the products and development of the exo‐type end group content with reaction time were evaluated by ¹H NMR. The catalysts are also active for the homopolymerization of styrene and the copolymerization of isobutylene and styrene. The highly reactive polyisobutylene products obtained by these manganese complexes show features similar to products obtained by conventional cationic polymerization, but the polymerization characteristics clearly deviate. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 5636–5648, 2007     

Catalytic reactions of oxetanes with protonic reagents and aprotic reagents leading to novel polymers

This paper reports new addition reactions of oxetanes with certain protonic reagents such as carboxylic acid, phenol, and thiol, and with certain aprotic reagents such as acyl chloride, thioester, phosphonyl dichloride, silyl chloride, and chloroformate using quaternary onium salts as catalysts. The kinetic study of the addition reactions of oxetanes was also investigated. These new addition reactions were applicable to the synthesis of new polymers. These polyaddition systems could also construct both polymer main chains and reactive side chains. The alternating copolymerization of oxetanes with carboxylic anhydride was performed. Furthermore, it was found that anionic ring‐opening polymerization of oxetanes containing hydroxy groups proceeded to afford the hyperbranched polymer (HBP) with an oxetanyl group and many hydroxy groups at the ends of the polymer chains. Alkali developable photofunctional HBPs were synthesized by the polyaddition of bis(oxetane)s or tris(oxetane)s, and their patterning properties were examined, too. The photo‐induced cationic polymerization of the polymers with pendant oxetanyl groups and the thermal curing reactions of polyfunctional oxetanes (oxetane resins) were also examined to give the crosslinking materials quantitatively. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 709–726, 2007     

Reactivity of oxetane monomers in photoinitiated cationic polymerization

Studies of the onium salt photoinitiated cationic ring‐opening polymerizations of various 3,3‐disubstituted oxetane monomers have been conducted with real‐time infrared spectroscopy and optical pyrometry. The polymerizations of these monomers are typified by an extended induction period that has been attributed to the presence of a long‐lived tertiary oxonium ion intermediate formed by the reaction of the initially formed secondary oxonium ion with the cyclic ether monomer. Because the extended induction period in the photopolymerization of these monomers renders oxetane monomers of limited value for many applications, methods have been sought for its minimization or elimination. Three general methods have been found effective in markedly shortening the induction period: (1) carrying out the photopolymerizations at higher temperatures, (2) copolymerizing with more reactive epoxide monomers, and (3) using free‐radical photoinitiators as synergists. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 3205–3220, 2005     

Enhancing cationic ring‐opening photopolymerization of cycloaliphatic epoxides via dark cure and oxetanes

Due to the longevity of the cationic active centers, cationic ring‐opening photopolymerization can continue after illumination ceases. In addition, substantial reactivity enhancement for epoxides is realized through copolymerization with oxetanes. Here, the separate reactions of epoxide and oxetane moieties were resolved during illumination and subsequent dark cure via real‐time Raman spectroscopy. Using oxetane additives, reactivity and conversion of 3,4‐epoxycyclohexylmethyl‐3′,4′‐epoxycyclohexane carboxylate (EEC) were improved during illumination and subsequent dark cure through modulation of the initial formulation viscosity and selection of the oxetane secondary functional groups. The largest enhancement in reactivity occurred with secondary groups comprising either aliphatic chains with their flexibility or hydroxyls with their chain‐transfer capacity. In contrast, oxetanes containing UV‐absorbing phenyl rings reduced the initiation efficiency, and difunctional oxetanes suppressed overall conversion through additional crosslinking. Although bulk conversion was directly related to initial formulation viscosity, the impact of the oxetane secondary functional groups was greater. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2018 , 56, 1436–1445     

Investigations of the reactivity of “kick‐started” oxetanes in photoinitiated cationic polymerization

The ability of certain alkyl substituted epoxides to accelerate the photoinitiated cationic ring‐opening polymerizations of oxetane monomers by substantially reducing or eliminating the induction period altogether has been termed by us “kick‐starting.” In this communication, the rates of photopolymerization of several model “kick‐started” oxetane systems were quantified and compared with the analogous biscycloaliphatic epoxide monomer, 3,4‐epoxycyclohexylmethyl 3′,4′‐epoxycyclohexanecarboxylate (ERL). It has been found that the “kick‐started” systems undergo photopolymerization at rates that are at least two‐fold faster than ERL. These results suggest that “kick‐started” oxetanes could replace ERL in many applications in which high speed ultraviolet induced crosslinking photopolymerizations are carried out. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 586–593     

Coordinate anionic ring-opening polymerization of oxetanes with aluminum benzyl alcoholate bis(2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenolate)

Aluminum benzyl alcoholate bis(2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenolate) (BnOAD), which was prepared through the mixing of equimolar amounts of benzyl alcohol and methylaluminum bis(2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenolate) (MAD), successfully polymerized four-membered cyclic ethers in a coordinate anionic ring-opening manner. The polymerization of 3-(4-bromobutoxymethyl)-3-methyloxetane (OxBr) with 5 mol % BnOAD proceeded slowly in toluene at 25 °C and produced sufficiently high-molecular-weight poly(OxBr) in a moderate yield in 24 h. The polymerization was greatly accelerated by the addition of a sterically hindered Lewis acid such as MAD, and this resulted in a nearly quantitative polymer yield within 24 h. In sharp contrast, conventional cationic polymerization with boron trifluoride etherate as a typical Lewis acid initiator produced low-molecular-weight poly(OxBr) along with a substantial amount of the cyclic tetramer. The polymerization of the simplest unsubstituted oxetane with BnOAD resulted in failure. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 4570–4579, 2004     

Hydroxyfunctional oxetane‐inimers with varied polarity for the synthesis of hyperbranched polyether polyols via cationic ROP

Synthesis and characterization of novel hydroxyl‐functionalized oxetane‐inimers with varied alkyl chain length—3‐hydroxymethyl‐3‐methoxymethyloxetane, 3‐hydroxymethyl‐3‐propoxymethyloxetane, and 3‐hexoxymethyl‐3‐hydroxymethyloxetane—is reported. Cationic ring‐opening polymerization of these latent, cyclic AB₂‐monomers leads to hyperbranched (hb) polyether polyols with degrees of branching between 34 and 69%, confirmed by inverse‐gated (IG) ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. The hyperbranching polymerization yielded apparent molecular weights (M_n) ranging from 500 to 2500 g mol^?1 (size exclusion chromatography). Remarkably, by copolymerization of 1,1,1‐tris(4‐hydroxyphenyl)ethane as a “focal” unit, polymerization under slow monomer addition conditions lead to higher apparent molecular weights up to 11,220 g mol^?1. The end groups of the hb polymers were studied via matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass and NMR spectrometry. By varying the alkyl chain length, tailoring of the solubility and glass transition temperatures of the materials is possible. Potential applications range from macroinitiators with defined polarity to tailoring of surface properties of antifouling materials. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 2850–2859     

Nitroxide‐mediated free‐radical copolymerization of styrene with butyl acrylate

Controlled free‐radical copolymerization of styrene (S) and butyl acrylate (BA) was achieved by using a second‐generation nitroxide, N‐tert‐butyl‐N‐[1‐diethylphosphono‐(2,2‐dimethylpropyl)] nitroxide (DEPN), and 2,2‐azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) at 120 °C. The time‐conversion first‐order plot was linear, and the number‐average molecular weight increased in direct proportion to the ratio of monomer conversion to the initial concentration, providing copolymers with low polydispersity. The monomer reactivity ratios obtained were r_S = 0.74 and r_BA = 0.29, respectively. To analyze the convenience of applying the Mayo–Lewis terminal model, the cumulative copolymer composition against conversion and the individual conversion of each monomer as a function of copolymerization time were studied. The theoretical values of the propagating radical concentration ratio were also examined to investigate the copolymerization rate behavior. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 4168–4176, 2004     

Photoinitiated cationic polymerization of limonene 1,2‐oxide and α‐pinene oxide

Limonene 1,2‐oxide (LMO) and α‐pinene oxide (α‐PO) are two high reactivity biorenewable monomers that undergo facile photoinitiated cationic ring‐opening polymerizations using both diaryliodonium salt and triarylsufonium salt photoinitiators. Comparative studies showed that α‐PO is more reactive than LMO, and this is because it undergoes a simultaneous double ring‐opening reaction involving both the epoxide group and the cyclobutane ring. It was also observed that α‐PO also undergoes more undesirable side reactions than LMO. The greatest utility of these two monomers is projected to be as reactive diluents in crosslinking photocopolymerizations with multifunctional epoxide and oxetane monomers. Prototype copolymerization studies with several difunctional monomers showed that LMO and α‐PO were effective in increasing the reaction rates and shortening the induction periods of photopolymerizations of these monomers. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2013     

Block copolymers of dodecafluoroheptyl methacrylate and butyl methacrylate by RAFT miniemulsion polymerization

Reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) miniemulsion polymerization of butyl methacrylate (BMA) and dodecafluoroheptyl methacrylate (DFMA) was carried out with 2‐cyanoprop‐2‐yl dithiobenzoate (CPDB) as chain transfer agent (CTA). Concentration effects of RAFT agent and initiator on kinetics and molecular weight were investigated. No obvious red oil layer (phase's separation) and coagulation was observed in the first stage of homopolymerization of BMA. The polymer molecular weights increased linearly with the monomer conversion with polydispersities lower than 1.2. At 75 °C, the monomer conversion could achieve above 96% in 3 h with [momomer]:[RAFT]:[KPS] = 620:4:1 (mole ratio). The results showed excellent controlled/living polymerization characteristics and a very fast polymerization rate. Furthermore, the synthesis of poly(BMA‐b‐DFMA) diblock copolymers with a regular structure (PDI < 1.30, PMMA calibration) was performed by adding the monomer of DFMA at the end of the RAFT miniemulsion polymerization of BMA. The success of diblock copolymerization was showed by the molecular weight curves shifting toward higher molar mass, recorded by gel permeation chromatography before and after block copolymerization. Compositions of block copolymers were further confirmed by ¹H NMR, FTIR, and DSC analysis. The copolymers exhibited a phase‐separated morphology and possessed distinct glass transition temperatures associated with fluoropolymer PDFMA and PBMA domains. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 1585–1594, 2007     

Synergistic effects in hybrid free radical/cationic photopolymerizations

Multifunctional alkyl glycidyl ether and oxetane monomers are usually deemed to be poorly reactive and are consequently of limited use for high speed photocuring applications. However, these monomers can be made to undergo exceedingly rapid exothermic photopolymerization when combined with a multifunctional acrylate monomer and a corresponding free radical photoinitiator. Under optimum UV irradiation conditions, these hybrid photopolymerizations take place rapidly and substantially without an induction period. A mechanism was proposed on the basis of thermal acceleration of the cationic ring‐opening polymerizations induced by the fast exothermic free radical acrylate photopolymerization. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 3759–3769, 2007     

Reversible addition–fragmentation transfer (RAFT) copolymerization of methyl methacrylate and styrene in miniemulsion

In the reversible addition–fragmentation transfer (RAFT) copolymerization of two monomers, even with the simple terminal model, there are two kinds of macroradical and two kinds of polymeric RAFT agent with different R groups. Because the structure of the R group could exert a significant influence on the RAFT process, RAFT copolymerization may behave differently from RAFT homopolymerization. The RAFT copolymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and styrene (St) in miniemulsion was investigated. The performance of the RAFT copolymerization of MMA/St in miniemulsion was found to be dependent on the feed monomer compositions. When St is dominant in the feed monomer composition, RAFT copolymerization is well controlled in the whole range of monomer conversion. However, when MMA is dominant, RAFT copolymerization may be, in some cases, out of control in the late stage of copolymerization, and characterized by a fast increase in the polydispersity index (PDI). The RAFT process was found to have little influence on composition evolution during copolymerization. The synthesis of the well‐defined gradient copolymers and poly[St‐b‐(St‐co‐MMA)] block copolymer by RAFT miniemulsion copolymerization was also demonstrated. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 6248–6258, 2004     

Porphyrin derivatives act as vinylene monomers in TEMPO‐mediated radical copolymerization with styrene

In this article, we offer clear evidence for the radical copolymerizability of porphyrin rings in 2,2,6,6‐tetramethyl‐1‐piperidinyloxy (TEMPO)‐mediated radical copolymerizations with styrene. The radical copolymerizations of styrene with 5,10,15,20‐tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)porphyrin (H₂TFPP) was conducted using 1‐phenyl‐1‐(2,2,6,6‐tetramethyl‐1‐piperidinyloxy)ethane as an initiator. The refractive index (RI) traces for the size‐exclusion chromatography of the resulting copolymers were unimodal with narrow molecular weight distributions. The RI traces shifted toward higher molecular weight regions as the polymerization progressed, and the number‐average molecular weights were close to those calculated on the basis of the feed compositions and monomer conversions. These features were in good agreement with a TEMPO‐mediated mechanism. The traces recorded by the ultraviolet‐visible (UV‐vis) detector (430 nm) were identical to those obtained by the RI detector, indicating a statistical copolymerization of styrene with H₂TFPP. This also indicated that H₂TFPP acted as a monomer and not as a terminator or a chain‐transfer agent under the conditions used. A benzyl radical addition to H₂TFPP was conducted as a model reaction for the copolymerization using tributyltin hydride as a chain‐transfer agent, affording a reduced porphyrin, 2‐benzyl‐5,10,15,20‐tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)chlorin 1 , via radical addition to the β‐pyrrole position. The UV‐vis spectrum of 1 was fairly similar to that of poly(styrene‐co‐H₂TFPP), indicating that H₂TFPP polymerized at its β‐pyrrole position in the TEMPO‐mediated radical polymerization. TEMPO‐mediated radical copolymerizations of styrene with several porphyrin derivatives were also demonstrated. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012