NOVEL HIGHLY SUBSTITUTED POLYCARBONATES: SYNTHESIS AND PROPERTIES OF POLYMERS DERIVED FROM 1,4-BIS-(2-HYDROXY-2-PROPYL)BENZENE AND ANALOGS.

A design for novel polycarbonates sensitive to thermolysis and acidolysis reactions is based on understanding of the process of cleavage of t-BOC carbonates. This process is clearly related to the ease with which tertiary butyl radicals or carbocations can be generated and thus, a number of polymers containing similarly labile tertiary or benzylic carbonates in their main chain have been designed. The synthesis of highly substituted tertiary polycarbonates has not been reported previously in the literature as these polymers are difficult to prepare due to the lack of stability of the chloroformates of tertiary or even benzylic alcohols. However, the authors have been able to prepare stable bis-carbonylimidazole or p-nitrophenylcarbonate derivatives of tertiary and benzylic diols and have succeeded in their polymerization using a base-catalyzed condensation with free diols.