Rapid and sensitive determination of the conversion of UV-cured acrylic ester resins by pyrolysis-gas chromatography in the presence of an organic alkali.

The double-bond conversion of UV-cured resins prepared from pentaerythritol triacrylate (PETA) was determined by pyrolysis-gas chromatography in the presence of an organic alkali, tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH). The pyrogram of the uncured prepolymer compound, consisting of PETA and a photoinitiator, 2,2-dimethoxy-2-phenylacetophenone, contained specific products reflecting the original acrylate structure, such as methyl acrylate (MA) and methyl ethers of pentaerithritol. Meanwhile, in pyrograms of the UV-cured PETA, the yields of MA considerably decreased. The double-bond conversions of the cured resins, irradiated with various UV dosages, were calculated based on the relative yields of MA among specific products in the pyrograms. The conversions determined by this approach were analyzed by comparing them with those estimated by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy.     

Rotationally resolved electronic spectra of 2- and 3-methylanisole in the gas phase: a study of methyl group internal rotation

Rotationally resolved fluorescence excitation spectra of several torsional bands in the S1 <-- S0 electronic spectra of 2-methylanisole (2MA) and 3-methylanisole (3MA) have been recorded in the collision-free environment of a molecular beam. Some of the bands can be fit with rigid rotor Hamiltonians; others exhibit perturbations produced by the coupling between the internal rotation of the methyl group and the overall rotation of the entire molecule. Analyses of these data show that 2MA and 3MA both have planar heavy-atom structures; 2MA has trans-disposed methyl and methoxy groups, whereas 3MA has both cis- and trans-disposed substituents. The preferred orientations (staggered or eclipsed) in two of the conformers and the internal rotation barriers of the methyl groups in all three conformers change when they are excited by light. Additionally, the values of the barriers opposing their motion depend on the relative positions of the substituent groups, in both electronic states. In contrast, no torsional motions of the attached methoxy groups were detected. Possible reasons for these behaviors are discussed.     

Photoinitiated polymerization of methyl methacrylate and methyl acrylate with 14C-labeled benzoin methyl ethers

Three ¹⁴C-labeled benzoin methyl ether (α-methoxy-α-phenylacetophenone) derivatives were utilized as photoinitiators in the polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and methyl acrylate (MA). The results of polymer end-group analysis are in accord with a mechanism of benzoin ether photocleavage into initiator radicals and dispute earlier labeling studies which were interpreted as evidence for copolymerization of excited-state benzoin ethers with reactive monomers. In MMA polymerization, the results indicate a preference for termination by disproportionation (～60%) and provide evidence for primary radical termination at 0.041M photoinitiator (optically dense solutions) in neat MMA. Evidence for chain branching by initiator radical hydrogen abstraction from poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA) is also presented. The benzoyl and α-methoxybenzyl radicals, produced on photolysis of benzoin methyl ether, appear to be equally effective in both initiation and hydrogen-abstraction processes. Quantum yields at 366 and 313 nm indicate the absence of a wavelength effect.     

Practical preparation of mono- and di-O-isopropylidene derivatives of monosaccharides and methyl 4,6-O-benzylidene glycosides from free sugars in a deep eutectic solvent

Free sugars were rapidly converted into the corresponding di-O-isopropylidene derivatives and methyl O-benzylidene glycosides in excellent yields and purity in a deep eutectic solvent made from choline chloride and malonic acid (ChCl:MA). Reaction conditions were mild; work-up was easy, and further purification was not necessary. Given the inexpensive, nontoxic, and recyclable nature of ChCl:MA, this protocol is environmental friendly.     

Thermally Regenerable Ion-Exchange Resins by Photografting

Crosslinked polymer beads containing regions of acidic and basic groups are the preferred structures for the efficient operation of a thermally regenerable ion-exchange process. Such systems can be prepared by various methods. Here the approach of using polymers and copolymers containing photo-labile groups as grafting sites is described. The polymers studied were polytriallylamine hydrochloride (polyTAA) and copolymers of propyldiallylamine hydrochloride (PDAA) and allyl benzoin methyl ether (ABME), of ABME and acrylic acid (AA), and of ABME and methyl acrylate (MA). The maximum amount of photografting of MA onto polyTAA was 12%. Very little photografting of MA onto PDAA:ABME copolymers was obtained. Photografting of TAA to AA:ABME and to MA:ABME copolymers occurred readily by using radiation of 360 nm wavelength, with the best yields of photografted polymer being about 60% when a MA:ABME copolymer was irradiated in a suspension. The effect of suspending medium, stirring rate, irradiation time, irradiation intensity, solvent, solids concentration, percentage of ABME in the MA:ABME copolymer, additional crosslinkers, surfactants, and the acid:base ratio in the hy-drolyzed resin prepared by photografting TAA onto MA:ABME copolymers on the yield, physical strength, shape, and ion-exchange properties of the resins is reported.     

Graft polymerization of vinyl monomers onto cotton fibres pretreated with amines

The influence of treating cotton fibres with several amines on the mechanical properties, moisture sorption ability before and after graft polymerization, and on graft yields for various water-soluble and water-insoluble vinyl monomers were analysed. As compared to water, the treatment with amines, ethylenediamine (EDA) in particular, resulted in a decrease in the crystallinity and tensile strength of the cotton fibres, and an increase in the moisture sorption. The graft yields of amine-treated cotton fibres using water-soluble monomers, acrylic acid (AA), methacrylic acid (MAA) and acrylamide (AM) were greater than those observed for water-treated cotton fibres, whereas the graft yields using water-insoluble monomers, methyl acrylate (MA), methyl methacrylate (MMA) and vinyl acetate (VA) were lower. The moisture sorption ability was improved by the graft polymerization with water-soluble monomers. The improvement was enhanced for MA and MAA by treatment with sodium hydroxide to form the corresponding sodium carboxylate derivatives. The tensile strength of EDA-treated cotton was slightly reduced by grafting, while that of the water-activated cotton yarn was barely changed. These results suggest that the graft polymerization of amine-treated cotton fibres with certain vinyl monomers increased the moisture sorption ability without resulting in increased fibre rigidity.     

Surface grafting of polyethylene by mutual irradiation in methyl acrylate vapor. II. High-energy electrons irradiation

Vapor-phase mutual grafting of methyl acrylate (MA) onto polyethylene (PE) at high dose rates from an electron accelerator yields the same surface graft structure as does the grafting at low dose rates from ⁶⁰Co sources; i.e., a homopolymer layer (consisting of only MA component) is easily formed on the inner graft copolymer layer (consisting of both MA and PE components) as a result of the continuously increasing surface graft composition. To produce the surface layer, 4-MeV electron irradiation with a linear electron accelerator requires only less than 3 min of irradiation time at dose rates of more than 2 Mrad/min, whereas γ irradiation with a ⁶⁰Co source requires at least 1 hr at dose rates of less than 2 × 10³ rad/min. The rate of monomer consumption (or polymerization) in the surface homopolymer layer shows no dependence of irradiation time and a positive dependence of dose rate. It has been suggested that this kinetic feature at the high dose rates shows some contribution of vapor-phase homopolymerization and subsequent deposition (onto the grafting surface) followed by recombination with the grafted side chain radicals, although secondary graft copolymerization from the grafted chain radicals is still the principal process for the growth of the surface homopolymer layer.     

Simple preparation and catalytic activity of Pd particles dispersed mesoporous carbons from poly(VDC/MA) containing Pd and Y compounds

We report a simple preparation of Pd particles dispersed mesoporous carbons. The carbons were prepared by steam activation of carbonized vinylidene chloride/methyl acrylate copolymer (poly(VDC/MA)) containing yttrium acetylacetonate (Y(acac)(3)) and palladium acetylacetonate (Pd(acac)(2)). The resulting carbons consist of high contents of mesopore and uniformly dispersed fine Pd particles. We measured the catalytic activities of the carbons obtained for hydrogenation of methyl linoleate. The Pd particles dispersed in mesoporous activated carbons obtained from poly(VDC/MA) containing both Y(acac)(3) and Pd(acac)(2) showed high catalytic activities, compared with the microporous activated carbon obtained from poly(VDC/MA) containing only Pd(acac)(2). Especially Pd particles dispersed in mesoporous carbons exhibited excellent selectivity for hydrogenation of diene (methyl linoleate) to monoene (methyl oleate).     

丙烯酸酯和甲基丙烯酸酯基团转移共聚研究

研究了三种丙烯酸酯分别和四种甲基丙烯酸酯的基团转移共聚，用１Ｈ ＮＭＲ法测定共聚物组成，扩展的Ｋｅｌｅｎ Ｔｕｄｏｓ法测定竞聚率，结果为γＭＡ＝９２３、γＭＭＡ＝００６；γＥＡ＝１４１５、γＭＭＡ＝００１；γＢＡ＝７５１、γＭＭＡ＝００２；γＭＡ＝１４４１、γＥＭＡ＝００１；γＭＡ＝１３９６、γＢＭＡ＝０２３；γＭＡ＝８６６、γｉ ＢＭＡ＝００８，表明基团转移聚合同阴离子聚合有明显的相似之处．     

Investigation of the radical copolymerization and terpolymerization of maleic anhydride and norbornenes by an in situ 1H NMR analysis of kinetics and by the mercury method: Evidence for the lack of charge‐transfer‐complex propagation

The radical copolymerization of electron‐deficient maleic anhydride (MA) and electron‐rich norbornene (NB) derivatives with 2,2′‐azobis(isobutyronitrile) (AIBN) in dioxane‐d₈ has been monitored in situ by ¹H NMR spectroscopy with free induction decays recorded every 30 min at 60, 70, or 84 °C. The ratios of the monomer pairs were varied in some cases. The NB derivatives employed in this study included bicyclo[2.2.1]hept‐2‐ene (NB), t‐butyl 5‐norbornene‐2‐carboxylate, methyl 5‐norbornene‐2‐methyl‐2‐carboxylate, and ethyl tetracyclo[4.4.0.1^2,5.1^7,10]dodec‐3‐ene‐8‐carboxylate. Decomposition of AIBN, consumption of the monomers, feed ratios, endo/exo ratios, copolymer compositions, and copolymer yields were studied as a function of polymerization time. Furthermore, a homopolymerizable third monomer (t‐butyl methacrylate, methacrylic acid, t‐butyl acrylate, or acrylic acid) was added to the NB/MA 1/1 system, revealing that the methacrylic monomer polymerizes rapidly in the early stage and that the ratio of MA to NB in the terpolymer strongly deviates from 1/1. In contrast, however, the acrylic monomers are more uniformly incorporated into the polymer. Nevertheless, these studies indicate that MA and NB do not always behave as a pair in radical polymerization and disproves the commonly believed charge‐transfer mechanism. Electron‐deficient fumaronitrile was also included in the kinetics study. To further understand the copolymerization mechanism, MA and NB were competitively reacted with a cyclohexyl radical generated by the treatment of cyclohexylmercuric chloride with sodium borohydride (mercury method). A gas chromatographic analysis of the reaction mixtures has revealed that a cyclohexyl radical reacts with MA almost exclusively in competition and that the cyclohexyl adduct of MA essentially accounts for all the products in a mass balance experiment, eliminating a possibility of the formation of an adduct involving the MA–NB charge‐transfer complex. Thus, the participation of a charge‐transfer complex in the copolymerization of MA and NB cannot be important. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 3521–3542, 2000     

EPR study of the atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of (meth)acrylates

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy was applied to atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and methyl acrylate (MA) in order to investigate the mechanism of the controlled/“living” radical polymerization system. Although initially only copper(I) species was added to the system as a catalyst, EPR signals of copper(II) species were observed during the polymerization of MMA initiated by ethyl 2-bromoisobutyrate and p-methylbenzenesulfonyl chloride, and polymerization of MA initiated by methyl 2-bromopropionate. As the polymerization proceeded, the concentration of copper(II) increased gradually until a steady state was reached. The EPR results indicate that 5–6% of copper(I) species converted to copper(II) species in polymerization of MMA and about 3% in polymerization of MA at 90°C.     

Effect of Rh(III) and Ru(II) complexes in the polymerization of vinyl monomers initiated by charge transfer mechanism

The initiation of polymerization of vinyl monomers such as methyl methacrylate (MMA) and methyl acrylate (MA) by a charge transfer complex formed between n-butylamine(nBA) and carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) at 30°C is slow. The effect of the dimethylsulfoxide complexes of Rh(III) and Ru(II) on the polymerization of MMA and MA in the presence of nBA, and CCl₄ in DMSO has been studied. The rate of polymerization and percent conversion of the MMA and MA at 30°C are evaluated at the critical concentration of the metal complexes. At the critical range of the metal complex concentrations, both R_p, and percent conversion of MMA and MA were found to be highest. However, above and below the critical concentrations, R_p and percent conversion of the monomers were found to decrease. A suitable mechanism for the polymerization has been proposed.     

Synthesis of Polymers by Using Divalent Metal Salts of Mono(hydroxyethyl)phthalate: Metal-Containing Unsaturated Polyesters with Pendent Methacrylate Groups

Syntheses of novel metal-containing unsaturated polyesters having pendent methacrylate groups obtained by use of divalent metal salts of mono(hydroxyethyl)phthalate-maleic anhydride (MA)-glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) reactions were investigated. The yields were generally high. The metal-containing polyesters obtained were slightly yellow-brown solids, and the molecular weights ranged from 1546 to 2174, depending on the mole ratio of feed. Among them, the polyesters obtained at a feed mole ratio of metal salt:MA:GMA of 1:8:8 were miscible with methyl methacrylate (MMA), giving homogeneous solutions suitable for copolymerization, and the polyesters could be easily cross-linked with MMA to give cured resins. The metal-containing cured polyester resins showed excellent physical properties. Resistance of the resins to chemical attack and boiling water and thermal behavior are also discussed.     

Donor-Acceptor Complexes in Copolymerization. XLIV. Copolymerization of Styrene and α-Methylstyrene with Acrylic and α-Substituted Acrylic Esters in the Presence of Aluminum Compounds

Abstract

The copolymerization of styrene (S) with methyl acrylate (MA) and with methyl methacrylate (MMA) in the presence of AlEt₃ yields equimolar, alternating copolymers while no polymer is formed in α-methylstyrene (MS)-MA and MS-MMA systems. In the presence of AlEt_1.5Cl_l,5 (EASC), S-MA and S-MMA yield alternating copolymers, S-methyl a-chloroacrylate (MCA), MS-MA and MS-MMA yield a mixture of alternating and cationic polymers, and MS-MCA yields cationic polymer only. In the presence of A1C1₃, S-MA and MS-MA yield a mixture of alternating and cationic polymers and S-MMA and MS-MMA yield cationic polymer only. The cotacticity distributions of the alternating S-MA and S-MMA copolymers prepared in the presence of AlEt₃, EASC, and A1C1, are the same; the coisotactic, co-heterotactic, and cosyndiotactic fractions being approximately in the ratio 1:2:1. The cosyndiotactic fractions of the alter-nating copolymers prepared in the presence of EASC are in the order MS-MMA > MS-MA > S-MCA > S-MMA=S-MA.     

丙烯酸甲酯-异丁烯交替共聚反应机理和动力学研究

本文研究了丙烯酸甲酯(MA)和异丁烯(IB)在AlEtCl_2,BPO存在下的聚合反应机理及动力学。结果表明:当[IB]≥[MA]时,共聚合是按三元络合单体(T)均聚的机理进行,形成(MA)-(IB)的交替共聚物;当[IB]<[MA]时,则形成富MA的含MA嵌段序列的共聚物,共聚是由三元络合单体(T)和二元络合单体(B),按无规共聚机理进行的。     

Copolymerization and Copolymers of 2,4,5-Tribromostyrene with Methyl Acrylate and Methyl Methacrylate

Abstract

2,4,5-Tribromostyrene (TBSt) was copolymerized with methyl acrylate (MA) or methyl methacrylate (MMA) in a toluene solution using 2,2′-azobisisobutyronitrile as free radical initiator. The copolymerization reactivity ratios were found to be for the system TBSt / MA r₁= 7.4 ± 1.2 (TBSt) and r₂= 0.1 ± 1.4 (MA) and for the system TBSt / MMA r₁ = 1.8 ± 0.2 (TBSt) and r₂ = 0.1 ± 0.2 (MMA). The e and Q values were also calculated. The initial rate of copolymerization, as well as molecular weight of the obtained copolymers for both system linearly increase as the content of TBSt in the monomer mixture increases. Similar behavior has also been established for the course of the copolymerization reactions to high conversions. The resulting copolymers rapidly decompose at temperatures 20–800°C above the decomposition of corresponding (metha)crylate hompolymers. However, the glass transition temperature increases markedly with increasing TBS content.     

Determination of mandelic acid enantiomers in urine by derivatization in supercritical carbon dioxide prior to their determination by gas chromatography

The use of a supercritical carbon dioxide reaction medium for the determination of the (R)- and (S)-enantiomers of mandelic acid (MA) is proposed. The process involves a previous derivatization step under supercritical conditions by which the carboxyl group is esterified with methanol, then followed by acylation of the hydroxyl group in methyl MA with pentafluoropropionic anhydride in the absence of a catalyst. These derivatization steps cause no enantiomeric inversion. The derivatized enantiomers are extracted and quantified by gas chromatography. A BETA DEX 225 capillary column allows the separation of (R)-MA and (S)-MA as pentafluoropropionyl methyl esters with good resolution and precision. The overall method was used to determine both enantiomers in urine samples.     

Alkyl halide/tertiary amine as novel initiators for free radical polymerizations of methyl methacrylate,methyl acrylate and styrene

A series of combinations of alkyl halide with tertiary amine such as ethyl α-bromophenylacetate/tris[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl)]amine (αEBP/Me₆TREN), ethyl 2-bromoisobutyrate/triethylamine (EBiB/TEA), and ethyl 2-chloropropionate/N,N,N′,N′,N′′-pentamethyldiethylenetriamine (ECP/PMDETA) have been developed as novel free radical initiators and used for the polymerizations of methyl acrylate (MA), methyl methacrylate (MMA) and styrene (St). The effects of the structure of alkyl halide and tertiary amine on the polymerization of MA were investigated. Gel permeation chromatograph (GPC) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) have been utilized to analyze the end group of the obtained poly(methyl acrylate). Electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy was employed to identify the structure of the radicals produced by αEBP/Me₆TREN, and the results indicated that αEBP reacted with Me₆TREN via a single electron transfer (SET) nucleophilic mechanism to produce corresponding ethyl α-phenylacetate radicals which subsequently initiated the polymerization of MA. As both alkyl halide and tertiary amine are commercially available at low cost, non-explosive, and ease of use and storage in comparison with conventional azo, peroxide or persulfate initiators, the combination of alkyl halide and tertiary amine as a free radical initiator is promising for large-scale practical applications.     

Catalytic Effect of Dimethylsulfoxide Complexes of Rh(III) and Ru(II) on the Polymerization of Vinyl Monomers Initiated by 2,2′-Azobisisobutyronitrile

Transition metal salts and complexes catalyze the polymerization of vinyl monomers in the presence or absence of 2,2′-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN). In this article the effect of some dimethyl sulfoxide complexes of Rh(III) and Ru(II) on the polymerization of vinyl monomers such as methyl methacrylate (MMA) and methyl acrylate (MA) initiated by AIBN is reported. The percentage conversion and the rate of polymerization of MMA and MA are found to increase rapidly with time. At the critical concentrations of the complexes, the percentage conversion and the rates of reaction are found to be higher than those with AIBN alone, which significantly proves their accelerating effect. At concentrations above and below that of the critical value, the percentage conversion and the rates of polymerization of MMA and MA are found to decrease from those with AIBN alone. The trend of the increase and decrease of the percentage conversion and the rate of reaction with both types of complexes are similar. The solvent used in the polymerization of MMA and MA is dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) and the temperature of the reaction is 60°C. A precise mechanism for the catalytic reaction is suggested.     

Preparation and application of sol–gel acrylate and methacrylate solid-phase microextraction fibres for gas chromatographic analysis of organoarsenic compounds

Novel solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fibres containing methyl, ethyl, butyl acrylate and methacrylate were first prepared by a sol–gel technique and investigated for determination of selected organoarsenic compounds (lewisite, methyldichloroarsine, phenyldichloroarsine, diphenylchloroarsine and triphenylarsine) from water samples. The influence of sorption and desorption temperature and time for extraction efficiency were examined. The best new fibre coatings (methyl acrylate (MA), methyl methacrylate (MMA) and combination of methyl acrylate and methacrylate (MA/MMA)) for analysis of organoarsenic compounds were selected and compared with commercial fibres. The distribution coefficients K_fs were determined for the best novel fibres and for absorption commercial fibres. The highest K_fs value were obtained for MA/MMA and MMA fibres and were respectively 9458 and 6561 for lewisite and 6458 and 5884 for triphenylarsine. The limit of detection and quantification were determined for the three laboratory obtained fibres (MA, MMA and MA/MMA). LODs for tested fibres, at a signal-to-noise of 3, were 0.03–0.3 ng mL⁻¹. LOQs for selected coatings, at signal-to-noise of 10, were 0.1–0.8 ng mL⁻¹. The relative standard deviations (RSD) for all measurements were 4.3–6.5% (n = 9) and relative errors were 2.5–5%. The laboratory obtained fibres were used for environmental analysis of pore water samples from the Baltic Sea.