Multicyclic polyethers by the polycondensation of 1,2‐ or 1,3‐dicyanotetrafluorobenzene with flexible diphenols

1,2‐Dicyanotetrafluorobenzene (1,2‐DCTB) was polycondensed with various flexible diphenols in a molar ratio of 1:2, and experimental parameters such as the concentration and temperature were varied. Certain diphenols allowed a complete substitution of all C? F bonds, so perfect multicyclic polyethers (B_nCN, where B stands for bridge units, C represents cycles, and N is the degree of polymerization) were the main reaction products. Despite complete conversion, gelation was avoidable under optimized reaction conditions. However, in the case of 1,3‐dicyanotetrafluorobenzene (1,3‐DCTB), complete tetrasubstitution was not feasible with a feed ratio of 1:2. Yet, because of the inductive and mesomeric electronic interactions of all substituents in 1,3‐DCTB, the three C? F groups in the ortho position with respect to the cyano groups were significantly more reactive than the fourth C? F bond. Therefore, polycondensations with diphenols in a 3:2 feed ratio showed a relatively clean course, yielding soluble multicycles of structure B_{n /2}CN. All the multicyclic polyethers were amorphous and possessed molar mass distributions with polydispersities greater than 2. Heating with Cu²⁺ salts caused crosslinking of the multicycles derived from 1,2‐DCTB because of the formation of phthalocyanine complexes. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 5546–5556, 2006     

A novel process for synthesizing polystyrene and polyarylate block copolymers utilizing telechelic polystyrene

A novel process for synthesizing polystyrene (PS) and polyarylate (PAr) block copolymers utilizing telechelic polystyrene was proposed. This process was comprised of three steps. In the first step, carboxyl-terminated telechelic polystyrene (COOH PS COOH) was prepared by free radical polymerization with 4,4′-azobis(cyanovalelic acid) (ACVA). In the second step, COOH PS COOH was reacted with bisphenol-A by the use of triphenylphosphine, hexachloroethane, and triethylamine to convert carboxyl groups into phenol groups (OH PS OH). In the third step, to produce the PS PAr block copolymer, OH PS OH was added to a polyarylate synthesizing system where bisphenol-A and the mixture of tere/isophthaloyl dichloride (1 : 1 mole ratio) were polymerized by solution polycondensation. PS PAr block copolymers were successively obtained with relatively high PS copolymerization ratio. The ratio was over 70%, while there was a wide variety in molecular composition and molecular weight. Furthermore, by this process PS PAr block copolymers can be obtained from step 1 through step 3 consecutively without isolating the intermediates. This method has potential for industrial applications. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 2839–2847, 1998     

Synthesis of hetero‐telechelic polymers by self‐polyaddition of monomers containing both oxetanyl and carboxyl groups

The synthesis and self‐polyaddition of new monomers, o‐, m‐, and p‐[(3‐ethyloxetane‐3‐yl)methoxyethyl]benzoic acid (o‐EOMB, m‐EOMB, and p‐EOMB) containing both oxetanyl groups and carboxyl groups were examined. The reactions of o‐EOMB, m‐EOMB, and p‐EOMB in the presence of tetraphenylphosphonium bromide as a catalyst in o‐dichlorobenzene at 150–170 °C resulted in self‐polyaddition to give the corresponding hetero‐telechelic polymers poly(o‐EOMB), poly(m‐EOMB), and poly(p‐EOMB) with M_ns = 14,500–33,400 in satisfactory yields. The M_n of poly(o‐EOMB) decreased at higher reaction temperatures than 150 °C, unlike those of poly(m‐EOMB) and poly(p‐EOMB), possibly due to inter‐ or intraester exchange side reactions. It was also found that the thermal properties and solubilities of these polymers were supposed with the proposed structures. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 7835–7842, 2008     

Palladium‐catalyzed three‐component coupling polycondensation of aromatic diiodide,aromatic bis(boronic acid propanediol ester), and norbornadiene: A new route for poly(p‐phenylene vinylene)

A novel synthetic method for soluble precursor polymers of poly(p‐phenylene vinylene) (PPV) derivatives by the palladium‐catalyzed three‐component coupling polycondensation of aromatic diiodides, aromatic bis(boronic acid) derivatives, and norbornadiene is described. For example, the polymerization of 1,4‐diiodo‐2,5‐dioctyloxybenzene, benzene‐1,4‐bis(boronic acid propanediol ester), and norbornadiene at 100 °C for 3 days provided a polymer consisting of the three monomer units in a 97% yield (number‐average molecular weight = 3100, weight‐average molecular weight/number‐average molecular weight = 1.37). A derivative of PPV was produced smoothly by the retro Diels–Alder reaction of the polymer both in a dodecyloxybenzene solution and in a film at 200 °C in vacuo. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 3403–3410, 2005     

Synthesis of aromatic polyesters having pendant carboxyl groups in the side chains and conversion of the carboxyl groups to other reactive groups

Aromatic polyester, copolyester, and poly(ester-amide-thioester) having pendant carboxyl groups are directly synthesized by the organic phase/water phase interfacial polyconden-sation using low-molecular and polymeric phase transfer catalysts. Spectral analysis of the resulting polymers indicates that the nucleophilicity of salts of phenols to diacid chloride is far higher than that of salts of carboxylic acids and chemoselective esterification occurs in a 100% yield. Even if the polymeric catalyst having amino acid moiety as a nucleophilic group is used in the polycondensation, the polymers do not contain anhydride groups. The polyester can be almost quantitatively converted to polymers with different reactive groups by reacting the pendant carboxyl groups with alkyl halides in a DMA_c-H₂O mixture con-taining K₂CO₃. A bifunctional catalytic mechanism is proposed for the chemical modification of the polyesters. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Synthesis of poly(ester amide)s with lateral groups from a bulk polycondensation reaction with formation of sodium chloride salts

Poly(ester amide)s with a regular sequence and derived from diamine, dicarboxylic acid, and glycolic acid units can be easily synthesized by using a thermal polycondensation method based on the formation of metal halide salts as a driving force. These new poly(ester amide)s have tuneable properties depending on the number of methylene groups and constitute a group of materials with potential interest as biodegradable materials in applications such as surgical sutures. The present work reveals that the proposed synthesis can also be applied when esters of L ‐lysine are used as a diamine unit since no secondary reactions such as transesterification occur under the required polymerization conditions. The possibility of linking compounds with pharmacological activity to the carboxylic acid groups of lysine extends the interest of the referred materials, for example, as drug delivery systems. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 661–667, 2008     

Multicyclic polyethers with pendant keto groups by polycondensation of silylated 1,1,1‐tris(4‐hydroxyphenyl)ethane

1,1,1‐Tris(4‐trimethylsiloxyphenyl)ethane, (silylated THPE), was polycondensed with 2,4‐difluoroacetophenone and 2,4‐difluorobenzophenone. All polycondensations were performed in N‐methylpyrrolidone with K₂CO₃ as promotor. The feed ratio THPE/difluoroaromat was varied from 1.0:1.3 to 1.0:1.5. Instead of hyperbranched polymers or gels, soluble multicyclic oligo‐ and polyethers were identified as main reaction products by MALDI‐TOF mass spectrometry in all experiments. At feed ratios around 1.0:1.5 multicycles free of functional group were the main products. However, when isomeric a₂‐monomers such as 2,6‐difluoroacetophenone, 2,6‐difluorobenzophenone (or 2,6‐difluorodiphenylsulfone) were used, gelation occurred at feed ratios as low as 1.0:1.1. An explanation of the different cyclization tendencies on the basis of different conformations is discussed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 6233–6246, 2005     

Synthesis of polyester having pendent hydroxyl groups via regioselective dehydration polycondensations of dicarboxylic acids and diols by low temperature polycondensation

In this article, we describe the one‐step synthesis of polyesters having pendent hydroxyl groups by Lewis acid‐catalyzed, regioselective, dehydration polycondensations of diols (glycerol and sorbitol) and dicarboxylic acids [tartaric acid (TA) and malic acid (MA)] containing pendent hydroxyl groups, using low temperature polycondensation technique. Direct polycondensations of TA or MA and 1,9‐nonanediol catalyzed by scandium trifluoromethanesulfonate [Sc(OTf)₃] successfully yielded linear polyesters having hydroxyl functionality (M_n = ca. 1.0 × 10⁴). To demonstrate the reactivity of the pendent hydroxyl group, a glycosidation was performed. Poly(nonamethylene L ‐malate) showed significant higher biodegradability, compared with poly(nonamethylene L ‐tartrate) or poly(nonamethylene succinate). Stable poly(nonamethylene L ‐tartrate) emulsion could be prepared using poly(vinyl alcohol) as the surfactant, although emulsions consisting of poly(nonamethylene succinate) were unstable and phase‐separated within a few days. Furthermore, direct polycondensations of TA and diethylene glycol (DEG) or triethylene glycol (TEG) successfully produced water‐soluble polyesters having hydroxyl groups. This new polycondensation system may be extremely effective not only for advanced material design using functional monomers but also for effective utilization of biomass resources as chemical substances. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 5747–5759, 2009     

Bidentate coordination effect on polycondensation of amino acid esters between metal triflates and methoxy groups

To study the bidentate coordination effect on the polycondensation of L ‐valinates between metal triflates as a Lewis acid and methoxy groups, we carried out the polycondensation of 2‐methoxy‐4‐nitrophenyl L ‐valinate ( 1a ) and 2‐methoxyphenyl L ‐valinate ( 1b ) in the presence of the various kinds of rare‐earth triflates in DMF solution at room temperature. The polymerizations of 1a did not proceed without any metal triflates. In the presence of 5 mol% triflates, especially Sc(OTf)₃, the polymerization proceeded effectively. After the reaction mixture was poured into water, the product was collected, which was recognized as poly(L ‐valine)s by FTIR spectrum and GPC measurement. The yield of the product from the polymerization of 1a with Sc(OTf)₃ was higher than that from the polymerization of 4‐nitrophenyl L ‐valinate ( 1c ) with Sc(OTf)₃. This result indicates that the polymerization of 1a was promoted to introduce the methoxy group on the o‐position of the phenyl ring at the ester group with the aim of the bidentate coordination effect between metal triflates and L ‐valinate. As a control experiment, we carried out the polycondensation of 1b in the presence of 5 mol% metal triflates; however, any polymerization did not proceeded. That reason is from the lower activity of activated L ‐valinate ( 1b ). © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 2864–2868, 2008     

Ring-expansion polycondensation of 2-stanna-1,3-dioxepane (or 1,3-dioxepene) with dicarboxylic acid chlorides

2,2-Dibutyl-2-stanna-1,3-dioxepane 1 (or 1,3-dioxepene 2) were prepared from 1,4-butane (or 1,4-butene) diol and dibutyltin dimethoxide. They were polycondensed at 80°C in n-heptane with adipoyl-, suberoyl, sabacoyl chloride and with decane-1,10-dicarbonyl chloride. In the case of suberoyl chloride and 2,2-dibutyl-2-stanna-1,3-dioxepane reaction time, temperature and stoichiometry were varied to optimize both the molecular weight and the fraction of cyclic polyesters. With a slight excess of the dicarboxylic acid chlorides, only macrocyclic polyesters were obtained in all cases. The resulting cyclic polyesters were characterized by viscosity measurements, by ¹H and ¹³C NMR and by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.     

A convenient room temperature polycondensation toward hyperbranched AB2‐type all‐aromatic polyesters with phenol terminal groups

As a convenient alternative to the classical melt polycondensation the one‐pot solution polycondensation of suitable AB₂ monomers under mild conditions has been successfully adapted to hyperbranched all‐aromatic polyester with phenol terminal groups. The polymerization was performed in solution at room temperature directly using commercially available 3,5‐dihydroxybenzoic acid as monomer and 4‐(dimethylamino) pyridinium 4‐tosylate as catalyst to suppress the formation of N‐acylurea. Different carbodiimides as coupling agents were investigated to find the optimal esterification conditions. The polymers have been characterized extensively and were compared with their well‐known analogs synthesized in melt. The characterization was carried out by NMR spectroscopy, size exclusion chromatography, and asymmetric flow‐field flow fractionation as an alternative separation technique for multifunctional polymers. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 5158–5168, 2009     

Substituent effect of the ester moiety of epoxysuccinates on the polycondensation with diamine

Di‐2,2,2‐trichloroethyl cis‐epoxysuccinate, di‐2‐cyanoethyl cis‐epoxysuccinate, and di‐2‐methoxyethyl cis‐epoxysuccinate were synthesized, and the substituent effect of the epoxysuccinates on the polycondensation with diamine was studied. The order of reactivities of the epoxysuccinates with m‐xylylenediamine was as follows: di‐trichloroethyl ester ≫ di‐cyanoethyl ester > di‐methoxyethyl ester, such was also confirmed by the model reaction of the epoxysuccinate with benzylamine. ¹H NMR and IR spectroscopic study and ab initio calculation also well explained the reactivity order. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 504–508, 2000     

Synthesis and characterization of new biodegradable thermosensitive polyphosphazenes with lactic acid ester and methoxyethoxyethoxy side groups

<正>Two novel biodegradable thermosensitive polyphosphazenes with lactic acid ester and methoxyethoxyethoxy side groups were synthesized via the macromolecular substitution reactions of poly(dichlorophosphazene) with the sodium salt of lactic acid ester and sodium methoxyethoxyethoxide.Their structures were confirmed by ~(31)p NMR,~1H NMR,~(13)C NMR,IR,DSC,and elemental analysis.The lower critical solution temperature(LCST) behavior in water and in vitro degradation property of the polymers was investigated.The results indicated that two polymers showed LCST phase transition over a range of concentrations from 0.13 to 15 wt%and pH-sensitive degradation properties.     

Synthesis of poly(succinimide) by bulk polycondensation of L‐aspartic acid with an acid catalyst

The bulk polycondensation of L ‐aspartic acid (ASP) with an acid catalyst under batch and continuous conditions was established as a preparative method for producing poly(succinimide) (PSI). Although sulfuric acid, p‐toluenesulfonic acid, and methanesulfonic acid were effective at producing PSI in a high conversion of ASP, o‐phosphoric acid was the most suitable catalyst for yielding PSI with a high weight‐average molecular weight (M_w) in a quantitative conversion; that is, the M_w value was 24,000. For the continuous process using a twin‐screw extruder at 3.0 kg · h⁻¹ of the ASP feed rate, the conversion was greater than 99%, and the M_w value was 23,000 for the polycondensation with 10 wt % o‐phosphoric acid at 260°C. Sodium polyaspartate (PASP‐Na) originating from the acid‐catalyzed polycondensation exhibited high biodegradability and calcium‐ion‐chelating ability. The total organic carbon value was 86 ∼ 88%, and 100 g of PASP‐Na chelated with 5.5 ∼ 5.6 g of calcium ion, which was similar to the value for PASP‐Na from the acid‐catalyzed polycondensation with a mixed solvent © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 117–122, 2000     

Synthetic application of tributylstannyl ester of silicic acid: Synthesis and polymerization of polysiloxane having methacryloyloxypropyl groups

Polymeric tributylstannyl ester of silicic acid ( PTBS ) was demonstrated to be a useful intermediary compound for the preparation of polysiloxane derivative ( MPS ), which possessed methacryloyloxypropyl groups. The reaction of PTBS and (3-methacryloyloxypropyl)dimethylchlorosilane ( 1a ) proceeded readily at room temperature under neutral conditions to give MPS with the elimination of tributyltin group. The reaction conducted in the presence of 1a and trimethylchlorosilane ( 1b ) was effective for the preparation of MPS containing the both silyl groups, in which the content of methacryloyloxy groups could be controlled. The obtained MPS polymerized readily under UV irradiation to afford the organic–inorganic hybrid resin ( MSR ) as a kind of organically modified silica gel. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 4226–4232, 1999     

Simultaneous construction of polymer backbone and side chains by three‐component polycondensation. Synthesis of polyethers with propargyl side chains from dialdehydes,alkylene bis(trimethylsilyl) ethers,and allenyltrimethylsilane

Polyethers with propargyl side chains were synthesized by the acid‐catalyzed reaction of dialdehydes 1 , alkylene bis(trimethylsilyl) ethers 2 , and allenyltrimethylsilane 4 . When ethylene glycol bis(trimethylsilyl) ether was used as 2 , only oligomer was obtained. However, the use of 2 with longer carbon chains gave the desired polyethers consisting of 1 , 2 , and 4 in the molar ratio 1:1:2 in good yields in the presence of 10 mol % triphenylmethyl perchlorate (TrClO₄) at ?20 °C. This polyether was treated with organometallic reagents such as Co complex or CuCl to give a cross‐linked polymer. This polymer synthesis is unusual in that it concurrently constructs both the polymer backbone and the functional side chains from three starting compounds. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 5440–5448, 2005     

Effect of the incorporation of amino groups in a glucose-responsive polymer complex having phenylboronic acid moieties

A novel polymer complex system sensitive to glucose was studied as a candidate material for formulating a chemically regulated insulin release system. A ternary copolymer of N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone (NVP), 3-acrylamidophenylboronic acid (AAm-PBA) and N,N-dimethylaminopropylacrylamide (DMAPAA) (poly(NVP-co-PBA-co-DMAPAA)) was synthesized by radical copolymerization. The phenylboronic acid group in this copolymer serves as a glucose sensor moiety. Poly(NVP-co-PBA-co-DMAPAA) was soluble in water in the pH range of 3–12, in sharp contrast to a binary copolymer of NVP and AAm-PBA (poly(NVP-co-PBA)) which showed solubility only under alkaline aqueous conditions, where the boronic acid group is in a tetrahedral ionized form. The protonated amino group in poly(NVP-co-PBA-DMAPAA) contributed to increase the solubility of the polymer under physiological and acidic aqueous conditions. Furthermore, poly(NVP-co-PBA-co-DMAPAA) formed a stable polymer complex gel with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) in pH 7.4 phosphate buffered solution due to the formation of a covalent linkage between the boronic acid groups in ternary copolymer and diol units in PVA. The release of myoglobin as model protein from the complex gel was increased immediately after the addition of glucose, due to the transition of gel into sol state, indicating the feasibility of this complex gel as a candidate material for a glucose-responsive delivery system for insulin.