| Abstract: | Poly(4-hydroxybenzoate) was prepared from 4-acetoxybenzoic acid, 4-pivaloyloxybenzoic acid, and 4-trimethylsiloxy benzoyl chloride by condensation without the addition of a catalyst. Although various reaction conditions were used the products were always crystalline. The morphology of the as-polymerized crystals has been studied by transmission electron microscopy as a function of molecular weight and end-group type. It was possible to detect morphological features during the course of reaction from oligomers to polymer which enabled us to determine the mechanisms that are likely to control chain growth for different regimes of polymerization kinetics. |
