Grafting of Polymers onto a Crosslinked Polymer Carrying Carboxyl Groups as a Model Compound for Carbon Black

Abstract

A cation-exchange resin (a crosslinked polymer carrying carboxyl groups) was used as a model compound for carbon black, and the grafting of several polymers to the resin was investigated. Reaction of acyl chloride groups that had been placed on the ion-exchange resin with polymers having hydroxyl or amino groups, such as polypropylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, polybutadiene glycol, polyvinyl alcohol, silicone diol, silicone diamine, and polyethyleneimine, resulted in grafting to the ion-exchange resin. In further experiments, primary amino groups were placed on the cation-exchange resin by reaction of acyl chloride groups with ethylenediamine. It was found that ring-opening polymerization of γmethyl L-glutamate N-carboxyanhydride is initiated by the amino groups on the resin, and polypeptide was grafted from the cation-exchange resin. Therefore, the reactivity of carboxyl groups on the resin was found to be similar to that on carbon black. However, carboxyl groups on the resin failed to initiate the cationic polymerization of vinyl monomers, in contrast to those on carbon black. This suggested that the acidity of carboxyl groups on carbon black is greater than on the cation-exchange resin.