Anionic Copolymerization of o-Phthalaldehyde with Epoxides: Facile Access to Degradable Polyacetals and Their Copolymers under Ambient Conditions

Naganath Patil, Yves Gnanou*, Xiaoshuang Feng*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

Traditionally o-phthalaldehyde (OPA) has to be homopolymerized or copolymerized with other monomers at low temperature due to its very low ceiling temperature (Tc= -36 °C). In the presence of a Lewis acid such as triethylborane (TEB) the anionic copolymerization of OPA with various epoxides including ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, 1-butene oxide, 1-octene oxide, allyl glycidyl ether, phenyl glycidyl ether, and styrene oxide could be successfully carried out under ambient conditions, resulting in the formation of a host of polyacetals. The role and effect of TEB, its amount, and also the feeding ratio of OPA to epoxides during their copolymerizations were respectively investigated. The successful "living" OPA/epoxides copolymerization was further extended to the synthesis of polyether-b-polyacetal block copolymers with different structure and properties.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)7817-7826
Number of pages10
JournalMacromolecules
Volume55
Issue number17
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 13 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research work is supported by KAUST under baseline funding (BAS/1/1374-01-01).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Organic Chemistry
  • Polymers and Plastics
  • Inorganic Chemistry
  • Materials Chemistry

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Anionic Copolymerization of o-Phthalaldehyde with Epoxides: Facile Access to Degradable Polyacetals and Their Copolymers under Ambient Conditions'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this