| Abstract: | The catalysis of imidine formation between an amine‐blocked polyurethane prepolymer and bisphthalide was studied with a series of metal alkoxides, phenoxides, and organotin compounds and tertiary amines. The carbon dioxide released during the reaction was followed for monitoring of the reaction. The metal alkoxides and phenoxides catalyzed the imidine formation reaction but did not catalyze the deblocking reaction, whereas the organotin compounds and tertiary amines showed no catalytic activity in the reaction between isocyanate and phthalide. With tin catalysts, the imidine formation reaction depended on the deblocking of the blocked prepolymer, but it was independent of deblocking with amine catalysts. The resultant poly(urethane imidine) copolymers were characterized with Fourier transform infrared, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, gel permeation chromatography, and thermogravimetric analysis techniques. The thermal stability of polyurethane increased significantly with the incorporation of imidine groups. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 39: 4236–4242, 2001 |
