Anionic bulk oligomerization of ethylene and propylene carbonate initiated by bisphenol‐A/base systems

When the bulk oligomerization of 1,3‐dioxolan‐2‐one (ethylene carbonate, EC) and 4‐methyl‐1,3‐dioxolan‐2‐one (propylene carbonate, PC) with the 2,2‐bis(4‐hydroxyphenyl)propane (bisphenol‐A, BPA)/base system (bases such as KHCO₃, K₂CO₃, KOH, Li₂CO₃, and t‐BuOK) was investigated at elevated temperature, significant differences were observed. Oligomerization of EC initiated by BPA/base readily takes place, but the oligomerization of PC is inhibited. The very first propylene carbonate/propylene oxide unit readily forms a phenolic ether bond with the functional groups of BPA phenolate, but the addition of the second monomer unit is rather slow. The oligomerization of EC yields symmetrical oligo(ethylene oxide) side chains. According to IR studies the oligomeric chains formed from PC with BPA contain not only ether but also carbonate bonds. The in situ step oligomerization of the BPA dipropoxylate was also identified by SEC, and a possible reaction mechanism is proposed. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 545–550, 1999     

Syntheses and gas transport properties of polyarylates based on isophthalic and terephthalic acids and mixtures of bisphenol A and 1, 1 bi‐2‐naphthol

Polyarylates based on isophthalic (IA) and terephthalic (TA) acids and an equimolar mixture of the diols Bisphenol A (BPA) and 1,1 bi‐2‐naphthol (BN) were synthesized to produce BPA‐BN/IA and BPA‐BN/TA polymers and to measure their gas permeability coefficients, P(i), at several pressures and 35 °C, to the gases O₂, N₂, CH₄, and CO₂. For the BPA‐BN/IA membranes, at a 2 atm up‐stream pressure, the P(O₂) and P(CO₂) are 0.93 and 4.0 Barrers with O₂/N₂ and CO₂/CH₄ ideal separation factors of 6.7 and 27. For the BPA‐BN/TA, at a 2 atm up‐stream pressure, the P(O₂) and P(CO₂) are 2.0 and 9.9 Barrers with O₂/N₂ and CO₂/CH₄ ideal separation factors of 5.6 and 21. Comparing the selectivity–permeability balance of properties shown by the BPA/TA membranes with that shown by the copolymer BPA‐BN/TA, the balance moves in the direction of higher selectivity and lower permeability because of the incorporation of BN, which is a more rigid monomer than BPA. However, when the balance of properties for the pair O₂/N₂ shown by BPA‐BN/TA is compared with the one shown by other membranes such as those based on mixtures of diols and diacids, that is the bisphenol A‐naphthalene/I‐T polymers reported in the literature, the balance moves up and to the right of the typical selectivity–permeability trade‐off observed in the BPA‐polyarylate family. Thus, simultaneous incorporations of flexible and rigid monomers in both the diols and the diacids lead to more productive and more selective membranes. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 256–263, 2006     

Effect of prepolymer molecular weight on solid state polymerization of poly(bisphenol a carbonate) with nitrogen as a sweep fluid

The effect of prepolymer molecular weight on the solid‐state polymerization (SSP) of poly(bisphenol A carbonate) was investigated using nitrogen (N₂) as a sweep fluid. Prepolymers with different number–average molecular weights, 3800 and 2400 g/mol, were synthesized using melt transesterification. SSP of the two prepolymers then was carried out at reaction temperatures in the range 120–190 °C, with a prepolymer particle size in the range 20–45 μm and a N₂ flow rate of 1600 mL/min. The glass transition temperature (T_g), number–average molecular weight (M_n), and percent crystallinity were measured at various times during each SSP. The phenyl‐to‐phenolic end‐group ratio of the prepolymers and the solid‐state synthesized polymers was determined using 125.76 MHz ¹³C and 500.13 MHz ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. At each reaction temperature, SSP of the higher‐molecular‐weight prepolymer (M_n = 3800 g/mol) always resulted in higher‐molecular‐weight polymers, compared with the polymers synthesized using the lower molecular weight prepolymer (M_n = 2400 g/mol). Both the crystallinity and the lamellar thickness of the polymers synthesized from the lower‐molecular‐weight prepolymer were significantly higher than for those synthesized from the higher‐molecular‐weight prepolymer. Higher crystallinity and lamellar thickness may lower the reaction rate by reducing chain‐end mobility, effectively reducing the rate constant for the reaction of end groups. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 4959–4969, 2008     

Syntheses and permselectivity properties of polysulfones based on bisphenol A and 1, 1 bi‐2 naphthol

Polysulfone copolymers based on mixtures of bisphenol A, BPA, and 1,1 bi‐2 naphthol, BN, diols have been synthesized and their gas permeability coefficients and selectivity separation factors for O₂/N₂ and CO₂/CH₄, at 5 atm and 35 °C, have been measured in a standard permeation cell. The polysulfone copolymers can form flexible thin films suitable for gas separation membranes. The gas selectivity for O₂/N₂ measured for the polysulfone copolymers synthesized with 50 and 70 mol % of BN, with the rest being BPA, in the initial mixture of diols are 6.4 and 6.8, respectively. The corresponding gas permeability coefficients for O₂ are 1.24 and 1.09 Barrers. Compared to the corresponding selectivity and permeability balance reported for polysulfones based on pure BPA, BPA–PSF, the copolymers show a balance that moves in the direction of higher selectivity with small losses in the permeability of the fastest gas. From the glass transition temperature determinations, it is observed that the incorporation of BN in the repeating unit of BPA–PSF inhibits large‐scale segmental motions that are reflected in reductions in the diffusivity coefficients for all gases. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 226–231, 2004     

Effect of supercritical CO2 on the copolymerization behavior of cyclohexene oxide/CO2 and copolymer properties with DMC/Salen‐Co(III) catalyst system

The copolymerization of cyclohexene oxide (CHO) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) was carried out under supercritical CO₂ (scCO₂) conditions to afford poly (cyclohexene carbonate) (PCHC) in high yield. The scCO₂ provided not only the C1 feedstock but also proved to be a very efficient solvent and processing aid for this copolymerization system. Double metal cyanide (DMC) and salen‐Co(III) catalysts were employed, demonstrating excellent CO₂/CHO copolymerization with high yield and high selectivity. Surprisingly, our use of scCO₂ was found to significantly enhance the copolymerization efficiency and the quality of the final polymer product. Thermally stable and high molecular weight (MW) copolymers were successfully obtained. Optimization led to excellent catalyst yield (656 wt/wt, polymer/catalyst) and selectivity (over 96% toward polycarbonate) that were significantly beyond what could be achieved in conventional solvents. Moreover, detailed thermal analyses demonstrated that the PCHC copolymer produced in scCO₂ exhibited higher glass transition temperatures (T_g ～ 114 °C) compared to polymer formed in dense phase CO₂ (T_g ～ 77 °C), and hence good thermal stability. Additionally, residual catalyst could be removed from the final polymer using scCO₂, pointing toward a green method that avoids the use of conventional volatile organic‐based solvents for both synthesis and work‐up. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 2785–2793     

Dielectric studies of tetraaryl and triaryl polycarbonates and comparisons with bisphenol A‐polycarbonate

The relative permittivity, loss, and breakdown strength are reported for a commercial sample of bisphenol A‐polycarbonate (comm‐BPA‐PC) and a purified sample of the same polymer (rp‐BPA‐PC) as well as for two new polycarbonates having low molecular cross‐sectional areas, namely a copolymer of tetraaryl polycarbonate and BPA‐PC (TABPA‐BPA‐PC) and a triaryl polycarbonate homopolymer (TriBPA‐PC). The glass transition temperatures of the new polymers are higher than the T_g of BPA‐PC (187 and 191 °C vs. 148 °C). Relative permittivity and loss measurements were carried out from 10 to 10⁵ Hz over a wide temperature range, and results for the α‐ and γ‐relaxation regions are discussed in detail. For the α‐relaxation, the isochronal peak position, T_α, scales approximately with T_g. On the other hand, the peak temperature for the γ‐relaxation is approximately constant, independent of T_g. Also, in contrast to what is observed for α, γ exhibits a strong increase in peak height as temperature/frequency increases and a significant difference is found between Arrhenius plots determined from isochronal and isothermal data analyses. Next, the γ‐relaxation region for comm‐BPA‐PC and associated activation parameters show strong history/purity effects. The activation parameters also depend on the method of data analysis. The results shed light on discrepancies that exist in the literature for BPA‐PC. The shapes of the γ loss peaks and hence glassy‐state motions for all the polymers are very similar. However, the intensities of the TriBPA‐PC and TABPA‐BPA‐PC γ peaks are reduced by an amount that closely matches the reduced volume fraction of carbonate units in the two new polymers. Finally, for comm‐BPA‐PC, the breakdown strength is strongly affected by sample history and this is assumed to be related to volatile components in the material. It is found that the breakdown strengths for TriBPA‐PC and TABPA‐BPA‐PC are relatively close to that for rp‐BPA‐PC with the value for TriBPA‐PC being slightly larger than that for rp‐BPA‐PC or the value usually reported for typical capacitor grade polycarbonate. Finally, it is shown that the real part of the relative permittivity remains relatively constant from low temperatures to T_g. Consequently, based on the dielectric properties, TriBPA‐PC and TABPA‐BPA‐PC should be usable in capacitors to at least 50 °C higher than BPA‐PC. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2011     

Utilization of N,N‐Dialkylcarbamic Acid Derived from Secondary Amines and Supercritical Carbon Dioxide: Stereoselective Synthesis of Z Alkenyl Carbamates with a CO2‐Soluble Ruthenium–P(OC2H5)3 Catalyst

Reversible transformation of diethylamine ( 1 ) and supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) into N,N‐diethylcarbamic acid ( 2 ) was confirmed by direct acquisition of ¹H and ¹³C{¹H} NMR spectra. The equilibrium between 1 +CO₂ and 2 is strongly influenced by conditions of the supercritical state. Low temperature favors formation of carbamic acid, whereas high temperature causes decarboxylation. On the basis of the spectroscopic results of carbamic acid formation under scCO₂ conditions, the ruthenium‐catalyzed formation of alkenyl carbamates from terminal alkynes, 1 , and carbon dioxide was investigated to demonstrate the useful transformation of elusive carbamic acids. Selectivity toward the CO₂‐fixation products over enynes obtained by dimerization of the alkyne substrates was improved by the use of scCO₂ as a reaction medium. In particular, a CO₂‐soluble ruthenium complex, trans‐[RuCl₂{P(OC₂H₅)₃}₄], was found to be effective in affording Z alkenyl carbamates with high stereoselectivity.     

Investigation of clay modifier effects on the structure and rheology of supercritical carbon dioxide‐processed polymer nanocomposites

Superior property enhancements in polymer–clay nanocomposites can be achieved if one can significantly enhance the nanoclay dispersion and polymer–clay interactions. Recent studies have shown that nanoclays can be dispersed in polymers using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂). However, there is need for a better understanding of how changing the clay modifier affects the clay dispersability by scCO₂ and the resultant nanocomposite rheology. To address this, the polystyrene (PS)/clay nanocomposites with “weak” interaction (Cloisite 93A clay) and “strong” interaction (Cloisite 15A clay) have been prepared using the supercritical CO₂ method in the presence of a co‐solvent. Transmission electron microscopy images and small‐angle X‐ray diffraction illustrate that composites using 15A and 93A clays show similar magnitude of reduction in the average tactoid size, and dispersion upon processing with scCO₂. When PS and the clays are coprocessed in scCO₂, the “dispersion” of clays appears to be independent of modifier or polymer–clay interaction. However, the low‐frequency storage modulus in the scCO₂‐processed 15A nanocomposites is two orders of magnitude higher than that of 93A nanocomposites. It is postulated that below percolation (solution blended composites), the strength of polymer–clay interaction is not a significant contributor to rheological enhancement. In the scCO₂‐processed nanocomposites the enhanced dispersion passes the percolation threshold and the interactions dictate the reinforcement potential of the clay–polymer–clay network. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 48: 823–831, 2010     

Gas transport properties of poly(ether‐b‐amide) segmented block copolymers

The permeation properties of H₂, N₂, and CO₂ were determined at 35 °C and pressures up to 15 atm in phase‐separated polyether‐b‐polyamide segmented block copolymers. These polymers contain poly(ethylene oxide) [PEO] or poly(tetramethylene oxide) [PTMEO] as the rubbery polyether phase and nylon‐6 [PA6] or nylon‐12 [PA12] as the hard polyamide phase. Extremely high values of polar (or quadrupolar)/nonpolar gas selectivities, coupled with high CO₂ permeability coefficients, were observed. CO₂/H₂ selectivities as high as 9.8 and CO₂/N₂ selectivities as high as 56 were obtained in polymers with CO₂ permeability coefficients of approximately 220 × 10⁻¹⁰ cm³(STP) cm/(cm² s cmHg). As the amount of polyether increases, permeability increases. Gas permeability is higher in polymers with less polar constituents, PTMEO and PA12, than in those containing the more polar PEO and PA6 units. CO₂/N₂ and CO₂/H₂ selectivities are higher in polymers with higher concentrations of polar groups. These high selectivity values derive from large solubility selectivities in favor of CO₂. Because CO₂ is larger than H₂ and has, therefore, a lower diffusion coefficient than H₂, the weak size‐sieving ability of the rubbery polyether phase, which is the locus of most of the gas permeation, also contributes to high CO₂/H₂ selectivity. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 38: 2051–2062, 2000     

Sorption and swelling of poly(DL‐lactic acid) and poly(lactic‐co‐glycolic acid) in supercritical CO2: An experimental and modeling study

Tissue engineering scaffolds require a controlled pore size and structure to host tissue formation from cell populations. Supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) processing can be used to form porous scaffolds in which the escape of CO₂ from a plasticized polymer melt generates gas bubbles that shape the pores. The process is difficult to control with respect to changes in final pore size, porosity, and interconnectivity, while the solubility of CO₂ in the polymers strongly affects the foaming process. An in‐depth understanding of polymer CO₂ interaction will enable a successful scaffold processing. Amorphous poly(DL ‐lactic acid) (P_DL LA) and poly(lactic acid‐co‐glycolic acid) (PLGA) polymers are attractive candidates for fabricating scaffolds. In this study, CO₂ sorption and swelling isotherms at 35 °C and up to 200 bar on a variety of homo‐ and copolymers of lactic acid and glycolic acids are presented. Sorption is measured through a gravimetric technique using a suspension microbalance and swelling by visualization. The obtained results are modeled using the Sanchez‐Lacombe equation of state. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 46: 483–496, 2008     

Measurement and prediction of solubilities and diffusion coefficients of carbon dioxide in starch–water mixtures at elevated pressures

The solubility and diffusion coefficient of carbon dioxide in intermediate‐moisture starch–water mixtures were determined both experimentally and theoretically at elevated pressures up to 16 MPa at 50 °C. A high‐pressure decay sorption system was assembled to measure the equilibrium CO₂ mass uptake by the starch–water system. The experimentally measured solubilities accounted for the estimated swollen volume by Sanchez–Lacombe equation of state (S‐L EOS) were found to increase almost linearly with pressure, yielding 4.0 g CO₂/g starch–water system at 16 MPa. Moreover, CO₂ solubilities above 5 MPa displayed a solubility increase, which was not contributed by the water fraction in the starch–water mixture. The solubilities, however, showed no dependence on the degree of gelatinization (DG) of starch. The diffusion coefficient of CO₂ was found to increase with concentration of dissolved CO₂, which is pressure‐dependent, and decrease with increasing DG in the range of 50–100%. A free‐volume‐based diffusion model proposed by Areerat was employed to predict the CO₂ diffusivity in terms of pressure, temperature, and the concentration of dissolved CO₂. S‐L EOS was once more used to determine the specific free volume of the mixture system. The predicted diffusion coefficients showed to correlate well with the measured values for all starch–water mixtures. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 607–621, 2006     

Isothermal cure kinetics of epoxy/phenol‐novolac resin blend system initiated by cationic latent thermal catalyst

The investigation of the cure kinetics of a diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA)/phenol‐novolac blend system with different phenolic contents initiated by a cationic latent thermal catalyst [N‐benzylpyrazinium hexafluoroantimonate (BPH)] was performed by means of the analysis of isothermal experiments using a differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Latent properties were investigated by measuring the conversion as a function of curing temperature using a dynamic DSC method. The results indicated that the BPH in this system for cure is a significant thermal latent initiator and has good latent thermal properties. The cure reaction of the blend system using BPH as a curing agent was strongly dependent on the cure temperature and proceeded through an autocatalytic kinetic mechanism that was accelerated by the hydroxyl group produced through the reaction between DGEBA and BPH. At a specific conversion region, once vitrification took place, the cure reaction of the epoxy/phenol‐novolac/BPH blend system was controlled by a diffusion‐control cure reaction rather than by an autocatalytic reaction. The kinetic constants k₁ and k₂ and the cure activation energies E₁ and E₂ obtained by the Arrhenius temperature dependence equation of the epoxy/phenol‐novolac/BPH blend system were mainly discussed as increasing the content of the phenol‐novolac resin to the epoxy neat resin. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 2945–2956, 2000     

Pressure and temperature dependence of the gas‐transport properties of dense poly[2,6‐toluene‐2,2‐bis(3,4‐dicarboxylphenyl)hexafluoropropane diimide] membranes

The gas‐transport properties of poly[2,6‐toluene‐2,2‐bis(3,4‐dicarboxylphenyl)hexafluoropropane diimide] (6FDA‐2,6‐DAT) have been investigated. The sorption behavior of dense 6FDA‐2,6‐DAT membranes is well described by the dual‐mode sorption model and has certain relationships with the critical temperatures of the penetrants. The solubility coefficient decreases with an increase in either the pressure or temperature. The temperature dependence of the diffusivity coefficient increases with an increase in the penetrant size, as the order of the activation energy for the diffusion jump is CH₄ > N₂ > O₂ > CO₂. Also, the average diffusion coefficient increases with increasing pressure for all the gases tested. As a combined contribution from sorption and diffusion, permeability decreases with increases in the pressure and the kinetic diameter of the penetrant molecules. Even up to 32.7 atm, no plasticization phenomenon can be observed on flat dense 6FDA‐2,6‐DAT membranes from their permeability–pressure curves. However, just as for other gases, the absolute value of the heat of sorption of CO₂ decreases with increasing pressure at a low‐pressure range, but the trend changes when the feed pressure is greater than 10 atm. This implies that CO₂‐induced plasticization may occur and reduce the positive enthalpy required to create a site into which a penetrant can be sorbed. Therefore, a better diagnosis of the inherent threshold pressure for the plasticization of a glassy polymer membrane may involve examining the absolute value of the heat of sorption as a function of pressure and identifying the turning point at which the gradient of the absolute value of the heat of sorption against pressure turns from a negative value to a positive one. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 354–364, 2004     

Heterogeneous strong base catalysis in supercritical carbon dioxide by mesoporous alumina and sulfated mesoporous alumina

The development of solid strong base catalysts utilizable in green but acidic medium of scCO₂ is reviewed. The strong base sites on mesoporous alumina and sulfated mesoporous alumina that had been generated by severe treatment at 773 K under vacuum (10^?4 Torr) were not neutralized by the compressed Lewis acidic molecules of CO₂, promoting a representative strong base-catalyzed reaction of the Tishchenko reaction as well as a typical base-catalyzed reaction of the Knoevenagel reaction in scCO₂. Infrared spectroscopy of the adsorbed pyrrole, temperature-programmed desorption of CO₂, and the poisoning by a very weak Brönsted acid of methanol have revealed that the average strengths of the base sites on mesoporous alumina and sulfated mesoporous alumina are weaker than that on conventional γ-alumina like JRC-ALO-4, but that they have a small number of strong base sites which function even in scCO₂ medium. It was found that the addition of a slight amount of THF cosolvent into scCO₂ remarkably accelerates the Tishchenko reaction over sulfated mesoporous alumina; the reaction rate in the scCO₂–THF medium was 1.5-fold and 2-fold faster than those in ordinary organic solvents such as benzene and THF and that in pure scCO₂, respectively. The unique structures of mesoporous alumina and sulfated mesoporous alumina have been fully characterized by N₂ adsorption–desorption measurements and XRD analyses.     

Synthesis of fluorinated oligomers for supercritical carbon dioxide applications

Syntheses of various fluorine‐based surfactants, namely fluorinated‐segment‐containing block co‐oligomers, were achieved by the radical polymerization of mainly acrylate‐based monomers. These types of surfactants serve as stabilizers for supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) media based applications, for which the effective solubilization of materials in the supercritical phase is generally not possible because of solubility problems faced when CO₂ is involved. Initially, a difunctional fluorinated initiator was synthesized in two steps. First, 4,4′‐azobis‐4‐cyanovaleric acid was chlorinated with SOCl₂, and then the product, 4,4′‐azobis‐4‐cyanovaleryl chloride, was reacted with a fluorinated alcohol to obtain the initiator for the polymerization reactions. The synthesized triblock co‐oligomers consisted of fluorinated side blocks and a hydrocarbon intermediate block. Efficient solubilization of the materials in scCO₂ was observed. It was experimentally shown that the solubility efficiency was affected by specific interactions between CO₂ and the oligomers, and these were determined by the nature and size of the inner block and by the chain length of the fluorinated side blocks in comparison with the inner block. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 5312–5322, 2005     

Covalent and electrostatic incorporation of amines into hypercrosslinked polymers for increased CO2 selectivity

Two methods of incorporating functional groups rich in nitrogen into low cost microporous hypercrosslinked polymers (HCPs) have been evaluated and the effects on the carbon dioxide CO₂/N₂ IAST selectivity were measured. Electrostatic incorporation of an ammonium salt into a sulfonic acid-containing HCP polymer afforded a static CO₂ uptake of 2.5 mmol g⁻¹ with a CO₂/N₂ IAST selectivity of 42:1 at 1 bar and 298 K. Using column breakthrough measurements with a 15:85 CO₂/N₂ mixture at 298 K and 1 bar, a selectivity of 17:1 was obtained. However, varying the counterion resulted in polymers with lower CO₂/N₂ selectivity values. Decoration of the parent polymer with CO₂-philic imidazole followed by electrostatic ammonium salt incorporation blocked some of the micropores reducing the selectivity which re-emphasizes the role and importance of pore width for CO₂/N₂ selectivity. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2018 , 56, 2513–2521     

Water‐in‐Supercritical CO2 Microemulsion Stabilized by a Metal Complex

Herein we propose for the first time the utilization of a metal complex for forming water‐in‐supercritical CO₂ (scCO₂) microemulsions. The water solubility in the metal‐complex‐stabilized microemulsion is significantly improved compared with the conventional water‐in‐scCO₂ microemulsions stabilized by hydrocarbons. Such a microemulsion provides a promising route for the in situ CO₂ reduction catalyzed by a metal complex at the water/scCO₂ interface.     

Effective fixation of carbon dioxide into poly(glycidyl methacrylate) in the presence of pyrrolidone polymers

The homopolymer (PGMA) of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) and the copolymer of GMA with N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone were prepared under radical conditions and employed for the fixation of CO₂ with LiBr as a catalyst, in which the oxirane groups were transformed into five‐membered cyclic carbonate groups. For the fixation of CO₂ into the oxirane groups on PGMA, poly(N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone), in which the catalyst was impregnated before the reaction, was found to be an effective additive. This was exploited for the reaction using the copolymer containing both the oxirane and pyrrolidone moieties. The oxirane groups on the copolymer were also converted readily to the cyclic carbonates through the fixation of CO₂. In such use of the pyrrolidone structures on the polymers, the fixation of CO₂ could be carried out effectively in a diluted chlorobenzene solution and also under solvent‐free conditions. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 4578–4585, 2005     

Selective Solid‐phase Extraction of Bisphenol A Using a Novel Stir Bar Based on Molecularly Imprinted Monolithic Material

In this paper, a novel monolithic stir bar based on molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) was firstly developed by filling modified neodymium magnet (Nd₂Fe₁₄B) powders into a glass tube (60 × 4 mm), followed by the imprinted grafting with bisphenol A (BPA) as the template molecule by thermal polymerization. It has been successfully used for the stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) and its extraction performance illustrated that the MIP‐encapsulated stir bar had stronger affinity to the template molecule, compared with the stir bar based on the non‐imprinted molecularly polymer (NIP). Under the optimal extraction conditions, a simple method based on the coupling of MIP‐SBSE with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used for the selective determination of the model mixtures of BPA, 4‐phenylphenol (PP) and phenol (P) in bottled water. The recoveries of BPA, PP and P were in the range of 88.5‐96.1%, 78.2‐89.7%, 81.3‐89.5% at three spiked levels, respectively, demonstrating that higher extraction and the specific absorption occurred between the template molecule and the prepared MIP stir bar.     

Synthesis and characterization of poly(arylene ether)s containing 6‐(4‐hydroxyphenyl)pyridazin‐3(2H)‐one or 6‐(4‐hydroxyphenyl)pyridazine moieties

A series of novel soluble pyridazinone‐ or pyridazine‐containing poly(arylene ether)s were prepared by a polycondensation reaction. The pyridazinone monomer, 6‐(4‐hydroxyphenyl)pyridazin‐3(2H)‐one ( 1 ), was synthesized from the corresponding acetophenone and glyoxylic acid in a simple one‐pot reaction. The pyridazinone monomer was successfully copolymerized with bisphenol A (BPA) or 1,2‐dihydro‐4‐(4‐hydroxyphenyl)phthalazin‐1(2H)‐one (DHPZ) and bis(4‐fluorophenyl)sulfone to form high‐molecular‐weight polymers. The copolymers had inherent viscosities of 0.5–0.9 dL/g. The glass‐transition temperatures (T_g's) of the copolymers synthesized with BPA increased with increasing content of the pyridazinone monomer. The T_g's of the copolymers synthesized from DHPZ with different pyridazinone contents were similar to those of the two homopolymers. The homopolymers showed T_g's from 202 to 291 °C by differential scanning calorimetry. The 5% weight loss temperatures in nitrogen measured by thermogravimetric analysis were in the range of 411–500 °C. 4‐(6‐Chloropyridazin‐3‐yl)phenol ( 2 ) was synthesized from 1 via a simple one‐pot reaction. 2 was copolymerized with 4,4′‐isopropylidenediphenol and bis(4‐fluorophenyl)sulfone to form high‐T_g polymers. The copolymers with less than 80 mol % pyridazinone or chloropyridazine monomers were soluble in chlorinated solvents such as chloroform. The copolymers with higher pyridazinone contents and homopolymers were not soluble in chlorinated solvents but were still soluble in dipolar aprotic solvents such as N‐methylpyrrolidinone. The soluble polymers could be cast into flexible films from solution. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 3328–3335, 2006