Cationic polymerization of glycidol

Polymerization of glycidyl alcohol induced by boron trifluoride tetrahydrofuran complex (BF₃ ? THF) in ethylene glycol dimethyl ether (DME) and in the presence of BF₃–water or BF₃–glycerol catalyst system was studied. Under any of the conditions employed, the reaction gave water-soluble oligoether with polydispersity of ~1.1. It was shown by mass spectrometry that during polymerization in DME, DME is incorporated into the polymer and glycidol polymerization gives the alkyl-ether. According to calculations for glycidol polymerization in the presence of hydroxy compounds, the calculated number-average degrees of polymerization were higher than the experimental values both in the presence of water and with glycerol; this may be attributable to initiation of new molecules on the hydroxy group of the unreacted monomer.