Facile synthesis of comb,star, and graft polymers via reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization

Reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization has been shown to be a facile means of synthesizing comb, star, and graft polymers of styrene. The precursors required for these reactions were synthesized readily from RAFT‐prepared poly(vinylbenzyl chloride) and poly(styrene‐co‐vinylbenzyl chloride), which gave intrinsically well‐defined star and comb precursors. Substitution of the chlorine atom in the vinylbenzyl chloride moiety with a dithiobenzoate group proceeded readily, with a minor detriment to the molecular weight distribution. The kinetics of the reaction were consistent with a living polymerization mechanism, except that for highly crowded systems, there were deviations from linearity early in the reaction due to steric hindrance and late in the reaction due to chain entanglement and autoacceleration. A crosslinked polymer‐supported RAFT agent was also prepared, and this was used in the preparation of graft polymers with pendant polystyrene chains. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 2956–2966, 2002     

Vinyl monomers bearing chromophore moieties and their polymers. V. Synthesis and fluorescence behavior of a vinyloxy monomer bearing electron-accepting chromophore moiety,N-(2-(vinyloxy)ethyl)-1,8-naphthalimide,and its polymer

A vinyloxy monomer bearing electron-accepting chromophore, N-(2-(vinyloxy)ethyl)-1,8-naphthalimide (VOENI), was synthesized by reaction of potassium 1,8-naphthalimide with 2-chloroethyl vinyl ether. VOENI can be homopolymerized by cationic initiation and copolymerized with maleic anhydride (MAn) under radical initiation. The fluorescence behaviors of VOENI and its polymers were investigated. It has been found that the fluorescence intensity of the VOENI monomer is much lower than that of its polymers at the same chromophore concentration. This means that a “structural self-quenching effect” (SSQE) has been also observed in the vinyloxy monomer consisting of an electron-accepting chromophore, which has opposite electronic structure in comparison with acrylates bearing electron-donating chromophores as we have reported previously. The SSQE is attributed to the charge-transfer interaction between the electron-accepting chromophore and the electron-donating double bond in the same molecule. The fluorescence quenching of 1,8-naphthalic anhydride and P(VOENI-co-MAn) by ethyl vinyl ether (EVE), dihydrofuran, triethylamine (TEA), etc. evidences that the electron-rich vinyloxy group does act as an important role in the SSQE of VOENI. C₆₀ can also quench the fluorescence of the polymers, and an upward deviation from the linearity of the Stern–Volmer plot was observed showing that C₆₀ acted as a powerful electron donor to quench the fluorescence of the copolymer. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 1111–1116, 1998     

Reactions on polymers with amine groups. V. Addition of pyridine and imidazole groups with acetylenecarboxylic acids

Unsaturated macromolecular carboxybetaines were obtained by reaction of poly(4-vinylpyridine) and poly(N-vinylimidazole) with propiolic acid. A kinetic model was presented for 4-methylpyridine. It consists of three coupled reactions: neutralization, addition which involves two molecules of acid and leads to a cation–anion pair structure, where the cation results from the addition of the amine nitrogen to the triple bond of acid, and an equilibrium reaction between the ion-pair structure and the betaine structure. The addition rate was found to be higher for poly(4-vinylpyridine) than for poly(N-vinylimidazole); it was also higher in water than in a water–methanol mixture. The reaction with acetylenedicarboxylic acid was carried out on poly(N-vinylimidazole), but the transformed units showed the structure that results from propiolic acid. The betaine products from 4-methylpyridine did not polymerize by radical initiation. The polymeric products show characteristics of photocrosslinking polymers. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 1615–1623, 1998     

Curing reaction of biphenyl epoxy resin with different phenolic functional hardeners

The investigation of cure kinetics and relationships between glass transition temperature and conversion of biphenyl epoxy resin (4,4′-diglycidyloxy-3,3′,5,5′-tetramethyl biphenyl) with different phenolic hardeners was performed by differential scanning calorimeter using an isothermal approach over the temperature range 120–150°C. All kinetic parameters of the curing reaction including the reaction order, activation energy, and rate constant were calculated and reported. The results indicate that the curing reaction of formulations using xylok and dicyclopentadiene type phenolic resins (DCPDP) as hardeners proceeds through a first-order kinetic mechanism, whereas the curing reaction of formulations using phenol novolac as a hardener goes through an autocatalytic kinetic mechanism. The differences of curing reaction with the change of hardener in biphenyl epoxy resin systems were explained with the relationships between T_g and reaction conversion using the DiBenedetto equation. A detailed cure mechanism in biphenyl-type epoxy resin with the different hardeners has been suggested. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 773–783, 1998     

Pressure–volume–temperature properties and free volume parameters of PEO/PMMA blends

Melt-miscible polymer blends of poly(ethylene oxide)/atactic poly(methyl methacrylate (PEO/a-PMMA)) were prepared by melt-mixing and characterized by pressure–volume–temperature (PVT) dilatometry in the pressure and temperature range of 0 to 200 MPa and 20 to 200°C, respectively. The PVT data were analyzed in terms of two equations of state (EOS). The empirical Tait EOS was applied in the glassy, semicrystalline, and equilibrium melt state, and the Simha-Somcynsky EOS theory was applied in the equilibrium melt and glassy state. The Simha-Somcynsky EOS theory contains a free volume function. The temperature, pressure, and composition dependence of the free volume fraction h calculated from the Simha-Somcynsky EOS theory was studied. As a function of blend composition we observe that the free volume fraction, thermal expansivity, and compressibility all deviate mainly positively from linearity while the specific volume deviates mainly negatively from linearity. These findings are reconciled with composition-dependent free volume parameters, the free volume and cell volume as well as with self- and cross-interaction parameters derived from the Simha-Somcynsky EOS theory as applied to polymer mixtures. Moreover, the pressure dependence of glass and melting transitions as well as crystallization kinetics have been investigated. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 36: 1061–1080, 1998     

Dispersion polymerization of acrylamide: Part II. 2,2′‐Azobisisobutyronitrile initiator

Dispersion polymerization of acrylamide in tert‐butyl alcohol (TBA)‐water media (TBA ⩾ 50 vol %) using poly(vinyl methyl ether) (PVME) as the stabilizer and 2,2′‐azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as the initiator at 50°C has been studied. The conversion‐time curve shows autoacceleration taking place from the very early stage of the reaction (measured from 4% conversion level). Molecular weight increases with conversion indicating that the gel effect is operative. This suggests that a major part (if not the whole) of the polymerization occurs in the particle phase. The effects of the concentrations of the stabilizer, the initiator, the monomer, and the solvent composition on particle size have been explained on the basis of particle phase polymerization. The feeding of the particles by the monomer presumably occurs through the solvent channels of the swollen particles. The swelling data of polyacrylamide films in various TBA‐water mixtures are given. The similarity and differences between the AIBN and ammonium persulfate (APS) initiated systems (published earlier by us) have been discussed. In general, particles are more polydisperse and bigger in the former case than in the latter. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 493–499, 1999     

Polymerization of vinyl chloride in the presence of precipitants. I

The kinetics of bulk and precipitation polymerization of vinyl chloride has been studied over wide range of reaction temperature by using γ-ray induced initiation. The autoacceleration effect, which has been observed by many investigators in the case of chemically initiated bulk polymerization of vinyl chloride above 40°C and has been the most controversial aspect of the bulk polymerization of vinyl chloride, was found to disappear in the bulk polymerization below 0°C. In the bulk polymerization at 40°C, the autoacceleration effect was observed up to 20%, in agreement with the results of previous investigators, and a pronounced effect of the size of polymer particles on the time–conversion curve was observed. The kinetics of precipitation polymerization of vinyl chloride in the presence of some nonsolvents was successfully described by a oneparameter equation. A kinetic scheme, which clearly explains the zero-order reaction behavior of bulk polymerization at low temperature and the kinetic behavior of precipitation polymerization described by the empirical equation, is proposed. The autoacceleration effect in the bulk polymerization at 40°C was considered to be essentially the same phenomenon as the small retardation period observed in the bulk polymerization at low temperature.     

Preparation and properties of poly(styrene-co-maleic anhydride)/silica hybrid materials by the in situ sol–gel process

Poly(styrene-co-maleic anhydride)/silica hybrid material has been successfully prepared from styrene–maleic anhydride copolymer and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) in the presence of a coupling agent (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) by an in situ sol–gel process. It was observed that the gel time of sol–gel solution was dramatically influenced by the amount of APTES. The hybrid material exhibits optical transparency almost as good as both silica gel and the copolymer. The covalent bonds between organic and inorganic phases were introduced by the aminolysis reaction of the amino group with maleic anhydride units of copolymer to form a copolymer bearing trimethoxysilyl groups, which undergo hydrolytic polycondensation with TEOS. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed that the glass transition temperature of the hybrid materials increases with increasing of SiO₂ composition. Photographs of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) inferred that the size of the inorganic particles in the hybrid materials was less than 20 nm. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 1607–1613, 1998     

The effect of acrylate functionality on frontal polymerization velocity and temperature

Frontal polymerization is a method of converting monomer(s) to polymer via a localized reaction zone that propagates from the coupling of thermal diffusion with the Arrhenius kinetics of an exothermic reaction. Several factors affect front velocity and temperature with the role of monomer functionality being of particular interest in this study. Polymerizing a di and triacrylate of equal molecular weight per acrylate revealed that as the proportion of triacrylate was increased the velocity and temperature increased. This is attributed to increased crosslinking and autoacceleration. Comparing several different acrylate monomers, both neat and diluted with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) so as to maintain constant acrylate group concentration, shows that velocity increases with increased functionality from mono to difunctional monomers. This trend breaks when applied to tri‐ and tetraacrylates, with fronts containing trifunctional monomer being the fastest. Acrylates containing hydroxyl functionality, as in the case of pentaerythritol‐based triacrylates, are slower than acrylates without. This is attributed to a chain‐transfer event and was tested using octanol and a hydroxyl‐free acrylate. It has also been shown that small amounts of water cause a lowering of front velocity due to energy lost via vaporization, which lowers the front temperature. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019 , 57, 982–988     

Synthesis and characterization of amphiphilic diblock copolymer of polystyrene and polyvinyl alcohol using ethanolamine–benzophenone as photochemical binary initiation system

Amphiphilic diblock copolymers of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polystyrene (PS), which are very difficult to prepare by common polymerization methods, have been obtained by initiation of the polymerization of styrene and vinyl acetate successively, followed by hydrolysis, using the ethanolamine–benzophenone (BP) charge-transfer complex (CTC). The effects of solvents, concentration of monomer, BP, ethanolamine, and PS prepolymer, with a reactive imino group (PS_a), on the photo-induced charge-transfer polymerization (CTP) of St and block copolymerization of VAc are discussed. The copolymer of PS-b-PVAc and the hydrolyzed product, PS-b-PVA, were characterized by FTIR, NMR, and GPC in detail. The effect of PS chain length on the crystallization of PVA was described. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 109–115, 1998     

Polymers from multifunctional isocyanates 14. Alternating copolymers from isocyanato alkenes: Copolymerization of 2-propenyl isocyanate with trimethylsilyl methacrylate as electron acceptor monomer

The copolymerization of 2-propenyl isocyanate ( 1 ) with trimethylsilyl methacrylate ( 2 ) has been investigated. 1 is an electron donor monomer with little tendency to undergo homopolymerization, while 2 is an electron acceptor monomer, capable of free radical homopolymerization. Polymerization to low conversion in benzene gave copolymers with preferential incorporation of 2 and a tendency towards alternating copolymers with increasing amounts of 1 in the feed (1 : 1.13 with a 9 : 1 feed ratio of monomers 1 : 2 ). The glass transition temperatures of the amorphous polymers are in the range from 100–70°C, with a T_g of poly(trimethylsilyl methacrylate) being 135°C. Desilylation occurs in the presence of water, causing an exothermal reaction above the glass transition temperature probably with formation of amides, a reaction that can be used for crosslinking. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 611–616, 1998     

Mechanism of the anionic polymerization of methyl methacrylate initiated by tetramethylammonium–triphenylmethide in tetrahydrofuran

A tetramethylammonium (TMA)–triphenylmethide (TPM) initiator generated in situ by the reaction of trimethyltriphenylmethylsilane with tetramethylammonium fluoride in tetrahydrofuran was found to have greater stability than the corresponding tetrabutylammonium or tetrahexylammonium derivatives. The predominant mode of degradation of TMA–TPM was found to be the TMA‐mediated methylation of TPM anions. The initiation of methyl methacrylate by TMA–TPM in tetrahydrofuran at ?78 °C was demonstrated to produce quantitative yields of poly(methyl methacrylate) with polydispersities of less than 1.1. Although the initiator efficiencies were low (9–40%) because of relatively slow initiation on the polymerization timescale, the initiation appeared to be rapid enough to give relatively narrow molecular weight distributions. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 237–244, 2004     

Graft copolymers prepared by ethoxylation of polyamide 12 and poly(ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol)

Graft copolymers consisting of polyamide 12 or poly(ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol) as backbone polymers and side chains of poly(ethylene oxide) have been synthesized. The amide and hydroxyl groups of the backbone polymers were used as initiation sites for the polymerization of ethylene oxide (EO). Potassium tert-butoxide was used for ionization of the active groups, and the polymerization of EO was carried out in dimethyl sulfoxide. The graft copolymers were characterized with respect to molecular weight and composition using elemental analysis, ¹H-NMR, gel permeation chromatography, and FTIR. The size of the side chains varied between 300 and 1000 g/mol. Thermal properties were examined by DSC. The graft copolymers showed increasing crystallinity and increasing melt temperature with increasing molecular weight of the side chains. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 803–811, 1998     

Volume dependence of thermal conductivity and isothermal bulk modulus up to 1 GPa for poly(vinyl acetate)

The thermal conductivity λ and heat capacity per unit volume of poly(vinyl acetate) (260 kg mol⁻¹ in weight average molecular weight) have been measured in the temperature range 150–450 K at pressures up to 1 GPa using the transient hot-wire method, which yielded λ = 0.19 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ at atmospheric pressure and room temperature. The bulk modulus K has been measured in the temperature range 150–353 K up to 1 GPa. At atmospheric pressure and room temperature, K = 4.0 GPa and (∂K/∂p)_T = 8.3. The volume data were used to calculate the volume dependence of λ, $g = - \left( {\frac{{\partial \lambda /\lambda }}{{\partial V/V}}} \right)_T .$ The values for g of the liquid and glassy states were 3.0 and 2.7, respectively, and g of the latter was almost independent of volume and temperature. Theoretical models can predict the value for g of the glassy state to within 25%. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 36: 1451–1463, 1998     

Time–temperature-dependent behavior of a substituted poly(paraphenylene): Tensile,creep, and dynamic mechanical properties in the glassy state

The linear viscoelastic behavior of a poly(paraphenylene) with a benzoyl substituent has been examined using tensile, dynamic mechanical, and creep experiments. This amorphous polymer was shown to have a tensile modulus of 1–1.5 Msi, nearly twice that of most common engineering thermoplastics. The relaxation behavior, which is similar to that of common thermoplastics, can be described by the WLF equation. Outstanding creep resistance was observed at low temperatures, with rubbery-like behavior being exhibited as the temperature approached T_g. Physical aging was shown to interact with long-term creep, rendering time–temperature superposition invalid for predicting the long-term properties. The effect of physical aging on the creep behavior was characterized by the shift rate μ. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 70: 2971–2979, 1998     

Influence of the plasticization on free volume in polyvinyl chloride

Positron lifetime measurements in pure polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and in the plasticized PVC have been performed. Tricresyl phosphate was used as a plasticizer. Samples of the PVC were prepared with eight different plasticizer concentrations (from 0 to 35% of the plasticizer in the PVC). All of the measurements were performed in air at room temperature. A conventional fast–slow coincidence lifetime spectrometer was used for the measurements. Mean free volumes radii and fractional free volumes were calculated from the lifetime data. It has been found that the mean free volume radius is in the investigated region of the plasticizer concentrations, a linear function of the concentration of the tricresyl phosphate in the PVC. It seems that a polynomial fit can be used to describe the fractional free volume vs. the plasticizer concentration in the PVC. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 36: 1839–1845, 1998     

Controlled/living polymerization of MMA promoted by heterogeneous initiation system (EPN‐X–CuX–bpy)

The polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) promoted by heterogeneous initiation system (ethyl‐2‐halopropionate (EPN‐X)–CuX–2,2′‐bipyridyl (bpy), where X = Br or Cl) is studied in detail. The results show that ethyl‐2‐bromopropionate (EPN‐Br) is an efficient initiator as expected, and that CuCl–bpy, instead of CuBr–bpy, is a better catalyst for the controlled polymerization of MMA. The solvents with a high value of dielectric constant (ε) will lead to fast initiation and narrow molecular weight distribution (MWD). As a result, the controlled, living polymerization of MMA with EPN‐Br–CuCl–bpy can be got in ethyl acetate (EAc) at 100°C and in acetonitrile at 80°C. All results suggest that the initiation reaction is a controlling step in the controlled polymerization of MMA. The relationship between the UV spectra of CuCl–bpy and the performances of the polymerization in EAc or acetonitrile suggest that the formation of bis‐bpy complex, [Cubpy₂]X⁻, will lead to fast initiation and good control of the polymerization. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 1255–1263, 1999     

Multiarm-star polyisobutylenes by living carbocationic polymerization

This article describes the synthesis of high molecular weight multiarm-star branched polyisobutylenes by living polymerization, using multifunctional initiators, and their initial characterization. First, macrointiators carrying tert-hydroxy function-alities were synthesized by the radical copolymerization of 4-(1-hydroxy-1-methylethyl)-styrene with styrene. This copolymerization system was found to be ideal with r₁ ≡ r₂ ≡ 1. Selected macroinitiators with average functionalities of 8–73 were then used to synthesize the star-branched polyisobutylenes. Polymers with molecular weights up to M̄_n = 400,000 were obtained within 30–60-min reaction times, while under similar conditions the monofunctional 2-chloro-2,4,4-trimethylpentane initiator yielded M̄_n ≈ 10,000 in 20 min. This can be viewed as an indirect proof that simultaneous multiple initiation took place with the macroinitiators. Under controlled conditions a branchedpolyisobutylene with M̄_n = 375,000 and MWD = 1.2, and theoretically calculated 23 arms, with no detectable side products was obtained under living conditions in 60 min; the molecular weight of this polymer increased linearly with time. The branched structure of the polymers were demonstrated by SEC-LLS analysis and core destruction of selected samples. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 85–92, 1998     

Pulse radiolysis studies of poly(methyl methacrylate) containing pyrene

A pulse radiolysis study of poly(methyl methacrylate) in the presence of pyrene has been carried out in the temperature range 100–295 K. The concentration of pyrene was changed from 10⁻³ to 10⁻¹ mol dm⁻³. The absorption/emission spectra and kinetics of solute excited states and solute radical ions were investigated. It was found that pyrene excited states were formed as a result of their radical ion recombination in a time scale up to seconds. The decay of solute radical ions was influenced by photobleaching and can be described by a time-dependent rate constant. The activation energy of Py ions decay was temperature dependent and was equal to 35.7 and 1.2 kJ/mol for temperatures >T_γ and <T_γ, respectively, where T_γ ∼ 175 K represented the transition temperature responsible for γ-relaxation. The reaction mechanism was proposed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 1209–1215, 1998