Synthesis of aminosaccharide‐derived polymers with urea,urethane, and amide linkages

The synthesis of novel polyurethanes and polyureas based on modified glycosylamines and glucosamines has been successfully accomplished by catalytic polymerizations. Several modified glucosamine monomers were synthesized to study their reactivities during these polymerization reactions. It was found that the anomeric hydroxyl groups are more reactive than the amino groups. The resulting polymers were characterized by NMR and IR spectroscopy, elementary analysis, viscosimetry, and gel permeation chromatography. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 39: 2332–2341, 2001     

Synthesis and photochemical properties of novel multifunctional photopolymers with both pendant epoxy groups and phenacyl ester groups

Novel multifunctional photopolymers with both pendant epoxy groups and phenacyl ester groups were synthesized by the one‐pot method for the reaction of poly(methacrylic acid) with epibromohydrin; this was followed by a reaction with phenacylbromide with 1,8‐diazabicyclo‐[5.4.0]undecene‐7 as a condensation reagent. These esterification reactions proceeded smoothly and quantitatively under mild conditions. Moreover, the photochemical reactions of the resulting polymers were evaluated by UV and IR spectroscopy. The pendant phenacyl ester groups were photocleaved to give corresponding carboxyl groups, and then the produced carboxyl groups reacted with pendant epoxy groups. Furthermore, the baking process promoted a crosslinking reaction because of the addition reaction of epoxy groups with carboxyl groups after irradiation. It was also proven that the photochemical reactivity of the resulting polymers was affected by the structure of the phenacyl ester group. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 39: 530–538, 2001     

Modeling molecular weight distribution in emulsion polymerization reactions with transfer to polymer

A mathematical model was developed for the computation of the dynamic evolution of molecular weight distributions (MWDs) during nonlinear emulsion polymerization reactions. To allow the direct computation of the whole MWD, an adaptive orthogonal collocation technique was applied. The model was validated with experimental methyl methacrylate/butylacrylate (BuA) semicontinuous and vinyl acrylate (VA)/Veova10 continuous emulsion polymerization results. Both systems considered introduce significant chain‐transfer reactions to polymer chains as a result of the presence of BuA and VA, respectively. The model developed was able to represent quite properly the kinetics and MWD of polymer samples during emulsion polymerizations. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 39: 3513–3528, 2001     

Free radical and thermal curing of terpyridine‐modified terpolymers

Terpolymers bearing terpyridine as well as (meth)acrylates as free radical curable groups (UV‐curing) or hydroxyl groups (thermal curing with bis‐isocyanates) were synthesized and characterized using ¹H NMR, IR and UV‐vis spectroscopy as well as GPC. Subsequently, the ability of covalent crosslinking via the UV‐initiated polymerization of the acrylate groups was investigated. Moreover, the thermal covalent crosslinking via the reaction of hydroxyl functionalized terpolymer and bis‐isocyanate compounds could be successfully achieved. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 4028–4035, 2004     

Application of ketenes to well‐defined polyester synthesis (4): End‐capping reactions in living anionic polymerization of ethylphenylketene

End‐capping reactions of a living polyester, obtained by anionic polymerization of ethylphenylketene (EPK), were carried out. As end‐capping reagents, electrophiles such as alkyl halide and acyl halide were successfully used. Reactivity of the terminal enolate and the resulting terminal structures were elucidated by model reactions, using lithium enolates having low molecular weights, obtained by an equimolar reaction of EPK with butyllithium. Polymerization of EPK by lithium alkoxide and the subsequent end‐capping reaction afforded the corresponding polyester having functional groups at both chain ends and a narrow molecular weight distribution. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 3103–3111, 2002     

Constitutional isomerism in polyamides derived from isophthaloyl chloride and 1,3‐diamine‐4‐chlorobenzene

Polyamides from isophthaloyl chloride and 1,3‐diamino‐4‐chlorobenzene with diverse constitutional order were obtained in a one‐stage synthesis varying the polymerization temperature and the monomer mixing modes. The constitutional order was calculated by ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopies. A model to determine the constitutional isomerism in these polycondensates was applied with the relevant kinetic reaction parameters obtained from the model reactions. The Monte Carlo technique was used to model the constitution along the polycondensation reaction as a function of the average polymerization degree. Constitution was determined by kinetic factors and not by thermodynamic ones. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 1202–1215, 2003     

Chain‐extended,hydroxyterminated‐polybutadiene‐based polyurethaneureas: Synthesis,reaction kinetics,and properties

Hydroxyterminated‐polybutadiene‐based prepolyurethanes were prepared with two different catalysts, dibutyltindilaurate (DBTDL) and triethylamine (TEA); chain extension of the prepolyurethanes followed with two different aromatic diamines, oxydianiline and 4,4′‐diaminodiphenylsulfone, in various concentrations. The prepolyurethane synthesis followed second‐order kinetics, with the DBTDL catalyst showing better efficiency for urethane formation than TEA. TEA‐catalyzed synthesis suffered from the self‐association of isocyanates as a major side reaction, following second‐order kinetics with respect to isocyanate concentration. Although there was a gradual increase in the intrinsic viscosity during prepolyurethane synthesis in the presence of DBTDL, the intrinsic viscosity remained almost constant with the progress of the reaction in the presence of TEA. The tensile properties of prepolyurethane and polyurethaneureas synthesized in DBTDL‐catalyzed reactions were higher than the properties of those synthesized in TEA‐catalyzed reactions. The variation of the tensile strength with the diamine concentration was correlated with the crosslink density and sol fraction. The solubility of the hard segment of polyurethaneurea in the reaction medium appeared to be important in influencing the tensile properties. The effects of the diamine concentration (chain extender) on the diffusion coefficient and activation energy of diffusion of toluene in polyurethaneureas were studied. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 39: 2978–2992, 2001     

Thiol‐isocyanate‐acrylate ternary networks by selective thiol‐click chemistry

Thiol‐isocyanate‐acrylate ternary networks were formed by the combination of thiol‐isocyanate coupling, thiol‐acrylate Michael addition, and acrylate homopolymerization. This hybrid polymerization reaction sequence was preferentially controlled by using phosphine catalyst systems in combination with photolysis. The reaction kinetics of the phosphine/acrylate thiol‐isocyanate coupling reactions were systematically investigated by evaluating model, small molecule reactions. The thiol‐isocyanate reaction was completed within 1 min while the thiol‐acrylate Michael addition reaction required ～10 min. Both thiol‐isocyanate coupling and thiol‐acrylate Michael addition reactions involving two‐step anionic processes were found to be both quantitative and efficient. However, the thiol‐isocyanate coupling reaction was much more rapid than the thiol‐acrylate Michael addition, promoting initial selectivity of the thiol‐isocyanate reaction in a medium containing thiol, isocyanate, and acrylate functional groups. Films were prepared from thiol‐isocyanate‐acrylate ternary mixtures using 2‐acryloyloxyethylisocyanate and di‐, tri‐, and tetra‐functional thiols. The sequential thiol‐isocyanate, thiol‐acrylate, and acrylate homopolymerization reactions were monitored by infrared spectroscopy during film formation, whereas thermal and mechanical properties of the films were evaluated as a function of the chemical composition following polymerization. The results indicate that the network structures and material properties are tunable over a wide range of properties (T_g ～ 14–100 °C, FWHM ～ 8–46 °C), while maintaining nearly quantitative reactions, simply by controlling the component compositions. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 3255–3264, 2010     

Main kinetic features of ethylene polymerization reactions with heterogeneous Ziegler–Natta catalysts in the light of a multicenter reaction mechanism

A previously developed kinetic scheme for ethylene polymerization reactions with heterogeneous Ziegler–Natta catalysts (see Y. V. Kissin, R. I. Mink, & T. E. Nowlin, J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 1999, 37, 4255 and Y. V. Kissin, R. I. Mink, T. E. Nowlin, & A. J. Brandolini, J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 1999, 37, 4273, 4281) states that the catalysts have several types of active centers that have different activities and different stabilities, produce different types of polymer materials, and respond differently to reaction conditions. Each type of center produces a single polymer component (Flory component), a material with a uniform structure (copolymer composition, isotacticity, etc.) and a narrow molecular weight distribution (weight-average molecular weight/number-average molecular weight = 2.0). This article examines several previously known features of ethylene polymerization and copolymerization reactions on the basis of this mechanism. The discussed subjects include temperature and cocatalyst effects on the polymerization kinetics and molecular weight distribution of polymers and reaction parameter effects (temperature, ethylene and hydrogen partial pressures, and α-olefin and cocatalyst concentrations) on the molecular weights of Flory components. The results show that the formulation of the multicenter kinetic scheme and the development of kinetic tools necessary for the application of this scheme significantly expand our understanding of the working of heterogeneous polymerization catalysts and provide additional means for their control. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 39: 1681–1695, 2001     

Synthesis and modeling of new phosphorus‐containing acrylates

New methacrylate monomers containing phosphonic acid or both phosphonic and carboxylic acids were synthesized through the reaction of t‐butyl α‐bromomethyl acrylate with triethyl phosphite followed by the selective hydrolysis of the phosphonate or t‐butyl ester groups with trimethylsilyl bromide and trifluoroacetic acid. The copolymerization of these monomers with 2‐hydroxyethylmethacrylate was investigated with photodifferential scanning calorimetry at 40 °C with 2,2′‐dimethoxy‐2‐phenyl acetophenone as a photoinitiator. Quantum mechanical tools were also used to understand the mechanistic behavior of the polymerization reactions of these synthesized monomers. The propagation and chain‐transfer reactions were considered and rationalized. A strong effect of the monomer structure on the rate of polymerization was observed. The polymerization reactivities of the monomers increased with decreasing steric hindrance and/or increasing hydrogen‐bonding capacity because of the hydrolysis of the phosphonate and the t‐butyl ester groups. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 2574–2583, 2005     

Study of hydrogen bonding and thermal properties of polybenzoxazine and poly‐(ε‐caprolactone) blends

The thermal properties of physical blends containing benzoxazine monomer and polycaprolactone (PCL) were monitored by DSC and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The ring‐opening reaction and subsequent polymerization reaction of the benzoxazine were facilitated significantly by the presence of a PCL modifier. Hydrogen‐bond formation between the hydroxyl groups of polybenzoxazine and the carbonyl groups of PCL was evident from the FTIR spectra. Only one glass‐transition temperture (T_g) value was found in the composition range investigated, and the T_g value of the resulting blend appeared to be higher in the blend with a greater amount of PCL. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 39: 736–749, 2001     

NMR Analysis of Hydroxyl-Terminated Polybutadiene End Groups and Reactivity Differences with Monoisocyanates

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was employed to investigate both the end group microstructure of R-45HTLO hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) and reactivity rate differences among the different types of end groups. There is some conflict in the literature about the exact nature of the end groups and which resonance frequencies represent the three main types of methylene-hydroxyl end groups (cis, trans, or vinyl) and other possible branch point end groups (geraniol). NMR spectral analysis of small molecule model compounds supports the cis, trans, and vinyl end groups model. A model reaction scheme is proposed that produces branch points without the requirement of any “geraniol” structures. The reaction, with and without catalyst, of the various HTPB end groups with three different monoisocyanates (2-fluorophenyl isocyanate, phenyl isocyanate, and tert-butyl isocyanate) monitored by NMR spectroscopy, revealed different reactivity rates that are correlated with the assigned structures. In both the catalyzed and uncatalyzed reactions, the vinyl end groups reacted slower than the cis or trans end groups. As expected, the bulky isocyanates were the slowest to react, while the isocyanate group with electron withdrawing groups reacted the fastest. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2018 , 56, 2665–2671     

MALDI‐TOF‐MS analysis of living cationic polymerization of vinyl ethers. III. Polymerization with SnCl4 and TiCl4 in the absence of additives

Matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry analysis revealed that the precision control (or the living nature) of the cationic polymerization of vinyl ethers with SnCl₄ or TiCl₄ critically depends on the Lewis acid concentration and temperature. Specifically, at an extremely low Lewis acid concentration, for example, the polymerization with the HCl–vinyl ether adduct (an initiator) is living at ?78 °C in CH₂Cl₂ solvent, whereas side reactions occurred at a higher concentration of SnCl₄ or at a higher temperature, ?15 °C. This was more pronounced with SnCl₄ than with TiCl₄, which was due to a stronger Lewis acidity of SnCl₄ as suggested by NMR analysis of the model reactions. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 39: 1258–1267, 2001     

Samarium poly(oxamide) polyanions as novel polymeric initiators. One-pot syntheses of graft copolymers

Samarium poly(oxamide) polyanions, formed quantitatively in situ by the reductive coupling polymerization of aromatic diisocyanates with samarium (II) iodide/hexamethylphosphoramide (HMPA) system, were directly used as the polymeric initiators in the graft polymerization with some electrophilic monomers. The graft polymerization of ϵ-caprolactone (CL) with several polyanions derived from bifunctional isocyanates, including tolylene 2,6-diisocyanate, o-tolidine diisocyanate and diphenylmethane diisocyanate, provided the corresponding graft copolymers in one-pot, indicating that the polyanion could work as a new type of reactive polymer. Several factors such as reaction temperature and time and the amount of HMPA and CL affected the behavior of the present polymerization system, and the graft copolymer was obtained quantitatively under the appropriate conditions. The results of the graft polymerizations of tert-butyl methacrylate and methyl methacrylate with the polyanion were also presented. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 35: 1381–1387, 1997     

Particle formation under monomer‐starved conditions in the semibatch emulsion polymerization of styrene. I. Experimental

Particle formation and particle growth compete in the course of an emulsion polymerization reaction. Any variation in the rate of particle growth, therefore, will result in an opposite effect on the rate of particle formation. The particle formation in a semibatch emulsion polymerization of styrene under monomer‐starved conditions was studied. The semibatch emulsion polymerization reactions were started by the monomer being fed at a low rate to a reaction vessel containing deionized water, an emulsifier, and an initiator. The number of polymer particles increased with a decreasing monomer feed rate. A much larger number of particles (within 1–2 orders of magnitude) than that generally expected from a conventional batch emulsion polymerization was obtained. The results showed a higher dependence of the number of polymer particles on the emulsifier and initiator concentrations compared with that for a batch emulsion polymerization. The size distribution of the particles was characterized by a positive skewness due to the declining rate of the growth of particles during the nucleation stage. A routine for monomer partitioning among the polymer phase, the aqueous phase, and micelles was developed. The results showed that particle formation most likely occurred under monomer‐starved conditions. A small average radical number was obtained because of the formation of a large number of polymer particles, so the kinetics of the system could be explained by a zero–one system. The particle size distribution of the latexes broadened with time as a result of stochastic broadening associated with zero–one systems. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 39: 3940–3952, 2001     

Lysine‐based functional blocked isocyanates for the preparation of polyurethanes provided with pendant side groups

This article describes a methodology to prepare polyurethanes (PUs), decorated with pendant (bio)functional side groups, by polymerizing (bio)functionalized blocked diisocyanates with polyols. Caprolactam blocked lysine diisocyanate methyl ester (BLDI‐OMe) was prepared in high yields, by reacting the methyl ester of lysine with carbonyl biscaprolactam. In the absence of a catalyst, the polymerization of BLDI‐OMe with polycaprolactone and polytetrahydrofuran resulted in strictly linear PUs due to the high selective reactivity of the blocked isocyanates (BIs). Although the ester appeared to be less reactive, we found hydrolyzing conditions for the ester, without affecting the BIs. The free acid groups were converted into a N‐hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) activated ester, which was a versatile intermediate for further functionalization. After having demonstrated that model amines were able to substitute NHS without effecting the BIs groups, the same chemistry was used to couple biotin, giving a biotin functional caprolactam blocked lysine diisocyanate. The polymerization with polyols afforded the corresponding biotin‐functional PUs. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 2036–2049     

Effective grafting of polymers onto ultrafine silica surface: Photopolymerization of vinyl monomers initiated by the system consisting of trichloroacetyl groups on the surface and Mn2(CO)10

The effective grafting of vinyl polymers onto an ultrafine silica surface was successfully achieved by the photopolymerization of vinyl monomers initiated by the system consisting of trichloroacetyl groups on the surface with Mn₂(CO)₁₀ under UV irradiation at 25 °C. The introduction of trichloroacetyl groups onto the surface of silica was achieved by the reaction of trichloroacetyl isocyanate with surface amino groups, which were introduced by the treatment of silica with 3‐aminopropyltriethoxysilane. During the polymerization, the corresponding polymers were effectively grafted onto the surface, based on the propagation of polymer from surface radicals formed by the interaction of trichloroacetyl groups and Mn₂(CO)₁₀. The percentage of poly(methyl methacrylate) grafting onto the silica reached 714.6% after 90 min. The grafting efficiency (proportion of grafted polymer to total polymer formed) in the polymerization of methyl methacrylate was very high, about 80%, indicating the depression of formation of ungrafted polymer. Polymer‐grafted silica gave a stable colloidal dispersion in good solvents for grafted polymer. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 39: 2157–2163, 2001     

Synthesis of phosphate‐pendant polymers and their application to thermally latent polymeric initiators

A novel phosphate monomer, O‐p‐(methacryloyloxymethyl)benzyl O,O‐diethyl phosphate (MDP) was synthesized by the reaction of diethyl phosphorochloridate with 1,4‐benzenedimethanol, followed by the reaction with methacryloyl chloride in the presence of triethylamine. The radical polymerization of MDP and copolymerization with methyl methacrylate were carried out in the presence of 2,2′‐azobisisobutyronitrile (3 mol %) in dimethylacetamide at 60 °C for 20 h to afford phosphate‐pendant polymers. The polymerization of glycidyl phenyl ether (GPE) was carried out with the phosphate‐pendant polymer as an initiator in the presence of ZnCl₂. The polymerization did not proceed below 90 °C but rapidly proceeded above 90 °C to afford polyGPE. The phosphate‐pendant polymer served as a good thermally latent polymeric initiator. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 39: 3365–3370, 2001     

Controlled free‐radical polymerization of 2‐vinylpyridine in the presence of nitroxides

Bulk free‐radical polymerization of 2‐vinylpyridine (2VP) in the presence of 2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidine‐N‐oxyl (TEMPO) was studied under different conditions (temperature and presence of additives). Linear poly‐(2‐vinylpyridine) with a narrow molecular weight distribution and controllable molecular weight was prepared in the presence of acetic anhydride at 95 °C up to a conversion of 66%. At higher conversions side reactions became very important (pseudoliving polymerization). By applying this procedure, well‐defined random copolymers of 2VP with styrene or tert‐butylmethacrylate as well as block copolymers of 2VP with styrene were synthesized. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 39: 2889–2895, 2001     

Supported atom transfer radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate mediated by CuBr–tetraethyldiethylenetriamine grafted onto silica gel

Silica‐gel particles grafted with tetraethyldiethylenetriamine were synthesized as support for CuBr for the heterogeneous atom transfer radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA). The immobilized CuBr mediated a living polymerization of MMA, demonstrated by an increase in molecular weight with conversion and low polydispersity. An excessive amount of catalyst (typically, CuBr/initiator = 1.5) was required to achieve a living process because of the limited mobility of the supported catalyst. The silica‐gel concentration had a strong effect on the polymerization. The recycled catalyst still mediated a living process but showed a reduced catalytic activity due to the presence of Cu(II). After being regenerated by a reaction with Cu(0), the catalyst regained its activity. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 39: 1051–1059, 2001