| Abstract: | A novel bicyclic oxalactam 2-oxa-5-azabicyclo 2.2.21 octan-6-one (2,5-BOL) was synthesized from sodium 3,4-dihydro-2H-pyran-2-carboxylate through a seven-step reaction sequence. Anionic ring-opening polymerization of 2,5-BOL was carried out in bulk at 12OOC or in dimethyl sulfoxide at 40, 60, and 80°C by using potassium pyrrolidonate and the N-benzoyl derivative of 2,5-BOL as catalyst and activator, respectively. The polymerization gave a new polyamide containing cis- and trans-2,5-linked tetrahydropyran rings in the main chain. The cis/trans ratio varied from 70/30 to 95 /5 depending on the reaction conditions. The polyamide having number average molecular weights of 3000–8000 was soluble in a variety of solvents including methanol, ethanol, dimethyl sulfoxide, dimethylformamide, chloroform, and dichloromethane. It began to decompose at 280–32OOC depending on the compositions of the cis- and trans-2,5-linked structural units. The anionic ring-opening polymerizability of 2,5-BOL was found to be much lower than its structural isomer, 8-oxa-6-azabicyclo 3.2.11 octan-7-one (8,6-BOL). |
