Esterification reactions on syndiotactic poly(2-methallyl alcohol). V. Homopolymers of 2-methallyl-(L)-dipeptidates and dipeptides cleaved from them

Syndiotactic poly(2-methallyl alcohol) (sPMA) is esterified with N^α-protected (L)-α-amino acids by the DCC/HOBT method. The resulting polymer is deprotected by HBr/glacial acetic acid. A second N^α-protected (L)-α-amino acid is condensed to the free α-NH₂ of the amino acid already bound to the sPMA by a water-soluble carbodiimide in mixed aqueous/organic solution. The formed N^α-protected dipeptide polymers were hydrazinolized to yield the N^α-protected dipeptide hydrazides. Alternatively, the dipeptidate polymers were N^α-deprotected and then hydrolyzed by aqueous KOH at pH = 11.0 to yield the deprotected dipeptides. All polymers and the dipeptides were characterized by ¹H- and ¹³C-NMR and the water-soluble N^α-deprotected polymers in addition by potentiometry. The synthetic procedures open a path to defined tactic polymers with chiral oligopeptide side chains and, after their cleavage, also to oligopeptides. During synthesis, the oligopeptide is bound to a dissolved polymer chain of relatively extended macroconformation which facilitates both the accessibility and reactivity of the reaction centers as well as the precipitation and filtration after each synthesis step. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Esterification reactions on syndiotactic poly(methallylalcohol). IV. Homo- and copolymers of N-protected methallyl-(L)-histidinate

Syndiotactic poly(methylallylalcohol) is fully esterified with N^α-protected (L )-histidine by carbodiimide in pyridine to yield the corresponding homopolymers, i.e., N^α-protected 2-methylallyl-(L )-histidinate monomer units and unreacted 2-methylallyl alcohol units are obtained, which in a second exhaustive esterification step are reacted with N^α-(benzyloxycarbonyl)-(L )-aspartic acid anhydride. The resulting copolymers consist of N^α-protected 2-methylallyl-(L )-histidinate and 2-methylally-N^α-(benzyloxycarbonyl)-(L )-hydrogen-α-aspartate monomer units. They are polyampholytes containing both imidazole and carboxyl groups. The structure, including composition of the copolymers, is determined by ¹H- and ¹³C-NMR, while water solubility and apparent pK_aa values are investigated by potentiometry.     

1H-NMR of the esterification of syndiotactic poly(methacrylic acid) with carbodiimides—II. Esterification with benzylalcohol and trifluoroethanol

The partial esterification of syndiotactic poly(methacrylic acid) with benzyl alcohol or trifluoroethanol and dicyclohexylcarbodiimide as a condensing agent has been studied, evaluating triad and pentad probabilities by ¹H-NMR. The mechanism of this esterification leads to a tendency toward alternation for esterified and unesterified monomer units along the chain and to a limiting conversion. Only a moderate approximation of triad and pentad probabilities by conditional probabilities of first and second order was possible. The esterification of poly(methacrylic acid) with trifluoroethanol has been carried out also in conc H₂SO₄ and leads to a random distribution of monomer units.     

Polymerization of vinyloxyaluminum and formation of syndiotactic poly(vinyl alcohol)

The polymerization of diisobutylvinyloxyaluminum, CH₂?CHOAl(i-Bu)₂, and diethylvinyloxyaluminum, CH₂?CHOAlEt₂, did not take place in the presence of typical radical or cationic initiators. The polymerization was realized at 60°C by the addition of tetrahydrofuran (THF) or tetrahydropyran, no conventional initiator being required. Diethyl ether, glyme, and dioxane were not effective on the polymerization. At Dry Ice–acetone temperature, polymerization did not take place, even in the presence of tetrahydrofuran, but did take place in the presence of both THF and SnCl₄. The role of cyclic ethers in the polymerization was studied. Polymers were converted into poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) by solvolysis. All the resulting PVA was syndiotactic; particularly polymers obtained at ?78°C showed syndiotactivity of 89%, which is the highest value ever reported.     

Short branching in poly(vinyl alcohol). II. NMR spectroscopy of model polymers of short-branched poly(vinyl alcohol)

In order to develop a method of measuring the amounts of short branches in PVA, an NMR study was made of a model poly(vinyl alcohol) having short branches, one or two monomer units in length. Detection and estimation of the short branches were shown to be possible by using the ¹³C-NMR spectra of PVA and the ¹H-NMR of acetylated PVA. In the ¹⁹F-NMR spectra of trifluoroacetylated model PVA, the resonance peaks of primary and tertiary alcohols in the branching structure were not well resolved from that of secondary alcohol of the main chain.     

Reaction of syndiotactic poly(methacrylic acid hydrazide) with functional carboxylic acids

As a highly reactive tactic vinyl polymer, syndiotactic poly(methacrylic acid hydrazide) (s-PMH) was prepared from syndiotactic poly(methyl methacrylate) (s-PMMA) by hydrazinolysis. The s-PMH served as the starting polymer to prepare other tactic vinyl homopolymers having optically active functional carboxylic acids or N-protected amino acids as side chains. The condensation of the acids was carried out in water by water-soluble carbodiimides. Conversion was followed by pH and the resulting homopolymers characterized by ¹H- and ^13C-NMR spectroscopy. The NMR-spectra were assigned by comparison with low molecular weight model compounds, derived from pivalic acid hydrazide. In a third on-polymer reaction, the OH-groups present in the side chains of some of the polymers were employed for adding an optically active isocyanate to yield branched side chains.     

Long branching in poly(vinyl acetate) and poly(vinyl alcohol). II. Polymerization of vinyl acetate in the presence of crosslinked poly(vinyl alcohol)

It is a common view that poly(vinyl acetate) has many branches at the acetyl side group, but that the corresponding poly(vinyl alcohol) has little branching. In order to study the branching in poly(vinyl acetate) and poly(vinyl alcohol) which is formed by chain transfer to polymer, the polymerization of ¹⁴C-labeled vinyl acetate in the presence of crosslinked poly(vinyl acetate), which was able to be decrosslinked to give soluble polymers, was investigated at 60°C and 0°C. This system made it possible to separate as well as to distinguish the graft polymer from the newly polymerized homopolymer. Furthermore, the degree of grafting onto the acetoxymethyl group and onto the main chain were estimated. It became clear that, in the polymerization of vinyl acetate, chain transfer to the polymer main chain takes place about 2.4 times as frequently at 60°C as that to the acetoxy group and about 4.8 times as frequently at 0°C.     

DNA capillary electrophoresis using poly(vinyl alcohol). II. Separation media

We represent the first extensive study on DNA capillary electrophoresis using various poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVAL)-related polymers as separation media. As a separation medium, PVAL homopolymer has shown poor resolutions probably due to its very strong hydrogen-bonding characteristics, resulting in extensive self-aggregation. On the other hand, poly(vinyl alcohol-co-vinyl acetate) and poly(vinyl alcohol-co-1-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) (PVAL-VP), both with a degree of polymerization of approximately 3.0x10(3), have been found to give excellent electropherograms with good resolutions for the analysis of double-stranded (ds)DNA. PVAL-VP, with hydrolytic stability in high and low pH regions, has also yielded fair electropherograms for single-stranded (ss)DNA under neutral and alkaline conditions, although further investigation is essential in order to increase the resolutions necessary for DNA sequencing analysis. The separations obtained under alkaline conditions have shown significantly shorter retention times, one-third of that for the current commercial separation media, due to the higher ionization of phosphate groups in the DNA chains.     

Viscoelastic behaviors and molecular motions of highly syndiotactic poly(vinyl alcohol) fibers

The viscoelastic behavior and molecular motion of highly syndiotactic poly(vinyl alcohol) (S‐PVA) fibers with a dyad syndiotacticity (r) of 69% were studied by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis and wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction and compared with those of atactic poly(vinyl alcohol) (A‐PVA) fibers with r = 54%. The β_c dispersion, based on the molecular motion of the chain molecules in the crystalline regions, was observed for A‐PVA around 120–140 °C, and the only primary (α_c) dispersion was observed for S‐PVA around 180 °C. The thermal expansion coefficients for the a and c axes of the A‐PVA crystal changed discontinuously around 120 °C, which corresponded to the β_c dispersion. For S‐PVA, the coefficient for the (002) plane changed discontinuously around 100 °C, similarly to A‐PVA, but that for the (100) plane remained unchanged between 20 and 220 °C. These results showed that the intermolecular hydrogen bonding of S‐PVA was stronger in the direction of the a axis than in the other directions, suppressing the β_c dispersion. The storage modulus and thermal expansion coefficient of the (020) plane (molecular axis) of S‐PVA decreased markedly around 180 °C, and this indicated that the α_c dispersion was due to the torsional motion of the molecular chains in the crystalline regions. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 800–808, 2004     

1H-NMR of the esterification of syndiotactic poly(methacrylic acid) with carbodiimides—I. Esterification with methanol

The esterification of syndiotactic poly(methacrylic acid) with methanol in the presence of dicyclohexylcarbodiimide as a condensing agent has been studied, evaluating triads by ¹H-NMR. The reaction proceeds via a cyclic anhydride as an intermediate, which with methanol then forms the ester. This mechanism leads to a limiting conversion and to a tendency toward alternation for the sequencing of esterified and unesterified monomer units along the chain. The statistics of the methyl methacrylate-methacrylic acid copolymers can be approximated by conditional probabilities of first order.     

Study on ketalization reaction of poly(vinyl alcohol) by ketones. VIII. kinetic study on acetalization and ketalization reactions of poly(vinyl alcohol)

The kninetics of acid-catalyzed acetalization and ketalization of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) were systematically studied in completely homogeneous media with carefully selected solvents. Thus the acetalization reaction was run in water with six aldehydes [R₁CHO (R₁ = H, CH₃, C₂H₅, n-C₃H₇, i-C₃H₇, ClCH₂)], whereas the ketalization in dimethylslfoxide with 11 ketones [R₂CH₃CO (R₂ = CH₃, C₂H₅, n-C₃H₇, i-C₃H₇, n-C₄H₉, i-C₄H₉, tert-C₄H₉, C₆H₅CH₂, C₆H₅CH₂CH₂), cyclopentanone, and cyclohexanone]. The latter was difficult to proceed in aqueous media. Both reactions were reversible and bimolecular and, despite the use of different solvents, gave similar heats of reaction (7.5 kcal/mol) and activation energies (ca. 15 kcal/mol) except for the case of formaldehyde and chloroacetaldehyde; however the equilibrium constants at 25°C showed that the acetalization is thermodynamically much more favored than the ketalization (ca. 5000 vs. 0.01–0.9), probably because of steric hindrance of the ketone substrate. The rate constants of hydrolysis (reverse reactions) for the poly(vinyl acetal) and poly(vinyl ketal) followed the Hammett-Taft equation to give a single p* (=3.60) that is very close to that for the hydrolysis of diethyl acetal and ketal. From these and other data, it was concluded that the polymer hydrolysis, as well as PVA acetalization and ketalization, are all electrophilic reaction where the formation of hemiacetal or hemiketal is the rate-determining step. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Effect of the molecular weight of poly(vinyl alcohol) on the water stability of a syndiotactic poly(vinyl alcohol)/iodine complex film

To precisely identify the effect of the molecular weight of syndiotactic poly(vinyl alcohol) (s-PVA) on the water stability of a s-PVA/iodine complex film, we prepared four s-PVAs with similar syndiotactic diad (s-diad) contents of about 63% and with different number-average degrees of polymerization, P_n, of 900, 6,000, 10,000, and 17,000, respectively. The desorption behavior of iodine in the s-PVA/iodine complex film in water was investigated in relation to the solubility of s-PVA in water. The degree of solubility of a s-PVA film having different P_n in water at 80 °C was limited to about 0.3-10%, whereas the degrees of solubility of atactic PVA films with P_n of 6,000 and 10,000 were 100% at the same conditions. The degree of iodine desorption of the complex film decreased with increasing P_n of s-PVA. Especially, the degree of iodine desorption of a PVA drawn film having P_n of 17,000 was limited to 2%, regardless of soaking temperature from 40 to 80 °C. The desorption of iodine in water was strongly affected by the dissolution of PVA. In addition, the degree of iodine desorption of the drawn s-PVA/iodine film was larger than that of the undrawn one.     

Short branching in poly(vinyl alcohol). III. Some properties of model polymers of short-branched poly(vinyl alcohol)

Melting point, the iodine color reaction, and foam fractionation were studied on model poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) having short branches of one or two monomer units in length. An increase in the amount of short branching units caused a marked decrease in color intensity of the PVA–iodine reaction and in the melting point. These tendencies were more remarkable when the short branching was two monomer units in length than when it was one monomer unit. It was also found that foam fractionation of an aqueous PVA solution produced PVA fractions with different degree of short branching, the degree increasing with increase in the fraction number. The color intensity of the PVA–iodine reaction has been confirmed to decrease with increase in the fraction number, but this result cannot be explained solely in terms of the short branching. It is concluded that the phenomenon of foam fractionation of PVA and the iodine color reaction of the fraction appear to be governed by many factors such as molecular weight, stereoregularity, and short branching.     

Graft copolymerization. II. Grafting of benzyloxyethyl methacrylate on poly(vinyl alcohol)

New graft copolymers were produced by grafting benzyloxyethyl methacrylate, the benzyl ether of HEMA, on high-molecular-weight poly(vinyl alcohol) in dimethyl sulfoxide solution with Ce⁴⁺ as initiator. The effects of the concentration of the initiator, the concentration of the monomer, the total concentration of the reactants, the temperature, and the duration of reaction on the percentages of grafting and conversion were investigated. Further, also the relationships between the initiator concentration and the percentages of grafting and of conversion in the reaction with poly(vinyl alcohol)s of lower molecular weight and of different degrees of hydrolysis were studied.     

Long branching in poly(vinyl acetate) and poly(vinyl alcohol). I. Crosslinking and crosslinking cleavage of poly(vinyl acetate)

A crosslinked network was formed by the reaction of partially saponified poly(vinyl acetate) and toluylene diisocyanate in benzene. The yield of gel was markedly dependent on the degree of saponification and the concentrations of polymer and diisocyanate. Crosslinked poly(vinyl alcohol) was obtained by treating the poly(vinyl acetate) with a catalytic amount of sodium hydroxide in methanol without any change of the urethane crosslinks. The crosslink based on the urethane linkage was quantitatively cleaved by acids, especially by hydrobromic acid, releasing polymers of the same molecular weight as the original.     

Structure–property relationships of poly(vinyl alcohol). II. The influence of molecular regularity on the crystallization–dissolution temperature relationships of poly(vinyl alcohol)

Dissolution temperatures T_s have been determined for poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) samples of varying tacticity as a function of crystallization temperatures T_c. From the values of T_s and T_c, one can obtain values of (T_m)_∞, the dissolution temperature of crystals of infinite stepheight. (T_m)_∞ is a characteristic property of a given sample. This method of characterization is very sensitive and reliable for detecting differences in molecular regularity among PVA samples. The variation of (T_m)_∞ with stereoregularity is attributed in part to differences in hydrogen-bonding characteristics. Determinations of the crystallinities of solution-crystallized PVA have shown that stereoregularity in PVA does not result in higher crystallizability.     

Poly(styrene-co-p-(hexafluoro-2-hydroxy-2-propyl)-styrene) blends with syndiotactic and/or isotactic poly(methyl methacrylate)

A modified polystyrene, poly(styrene-co-p-(hexafluoro-2-hydroxy-2-propyl)styrene) (FPS), was blended with syndiotactic and/or isotactic poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) in toluene. Blends were prepared under different conditions to control the self-aggregation of the PMMA segments. The formation of hydrogen bonding and the attendant changes in the aggregation or crystallization of PMMA segments were determined in the solid state by means of FTIR and DSC. The results indicate that for the binary blends, the aggregation of PMMA segments is diminished by hydrogen bonding interaction with either s-PMMA or i-PMMA, and that the interaction is stronger with the s-PMMA blends. For the ternary blends, FPS/s-PMMA/i-PMMA, the preference for stereocomplexation in the system with hydrogen bonding may be attributed to the “kink-nucleated” mechanism, which needs relatively short chain lengths of PMMA segments. Regardless of the order of addition of the components, the formation of crystalline stereocomplexes of s- and i-PMMA could be readily detected. Therefore, the miscibility of the polymer blends is dependent on the competition between the self-aggregation of the s- or i-PMMA segments, stereocomplexation and the hydrogen bonding interaction of PMMA segments with FPS.     

Preparation and thermal properties of thermoplastic poly(vinyl alcohol) complexes with boronic acids

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) was converted into melt flowable derivatives by complexation with a small amount of n-butyl boronic acid (BBA) and phenyl boronic acid (PBA) in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), and their thermal properties were examined from a viewpoint of the melt spinning of the complexes. It was found that (1) the melting temperature of the PVA–boronic acid complexes decreases and their degradation temperature increases with increasing the boronic acid content; (2) no gelation occurs for the PVA complexes with BBA and PBA in DMSO; (3) PBA gives a larger melting-temperature depression for PVA than BBA, but the spinnability of the complexes with BBA is much better than that with PBA; and (4) the melt-molded PVA complex fibers can be easily regenerated into PVA fibers with hot water. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 3045–3050, 1998     

Thermal decomposition of poly(vinyl chloride) and chlorinated poly(vinyl chloride). II. Organic analysis

A concerted study of poly(vinyl chloride), chlorinated poly(vinyl chloride), and poly(vinylidene chloride) polymers by spectroscopy, thermal analysis, and pyrolysis-gas chromatography resulted in a proposed mechanism for their thermal degradation. Polymer structure with respect to total chlorine content and position was determined, and the influence of these polymer units on certain of the decomposition parameters is presented. Distinguishing differences were obtained for the kinetics of decomposition, reactive macroradical intermediates, and pyrolysis product distributions for these systems. It was determined that chlorinated poly(vinyl chloride) systems with long-chain ? CHCI? units were more thermally stable than the unchlorinated precursor, exhibited increasing activation energy for the dehydrochlorination, and produced chlorine-containing macroradical intermediates and chlorinated aromatic pyrolysis products. The poly(vinyl chloride) polymer was relatively less thermally stable, exhibited decreasing activation energy during dehydrochlorination, and produced polyenyl macro-radical intermediates and aromatic pyrolysis products.     

Persistent polarization in poly(vinylidene fluoride). II. Piezoelectricity of poly(vinylidene fluoride) thermoelectrets

The piezoelectricity of PVDF thermoelect rets formed with vacuum-coated aluminum electrodes has been investigated in detail. The piezoelectricity depends on the β-form crystal structure of PVDF homopolymer and copolymers. However, the piezoelectricity is not attributed to the stress dependence of the spontaneous polarization of β-form crystals, but rather to the persistent polarization arising from trapped charges. The trapping mechanism is discussed.