Mechanism of the particle formation during the oxidative polymerization of 2,6‐dimethylphenol in an aqueous medium

The changes of the molecular weight and particle size with time during the oxidative polymerization of 2,6‐dimethylphenol in an aqueous medium were studied. At the beginning of the oxidative polymerization, the oligomers with the hydrophilic phenoxy anion at the end of oligomer chains are formed rapidly in the aqueous medium. When the molecular weight of the oligomer reaches up to a critical value, the oligomer precipitates out from the water, resulting in the formation of the original particle (or domain). With the increase of the molecular weight, the concentration of the phenoxy anion and the surface charge density of the original particles decrease; therefore, the repulsion force between original particles weaken and the stability of particles in water decreases, resulting in the coagulation of the original particle and the formation of the primary particle. With the further progression of the polymerization, the primary particles coagulate and final particles are formed. A three‐stage mechanism of the particle formation is proposed, that is, the particle nucleation, first coagulation, and second coagulation. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 3649–3653, 2007     

Immobilization of copper(II)-poly(N-vinylimidazole) complex on magnetic nanoparticles and its catalysis of oxidative polymerization of 2,6-dimethylphenol in water

Poly(N-vinylimidazole) (PVI) was grafted onto magnetic Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles through siloxane bonds to produce PVI-grafted Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles (shortened as Fe₃O₄-g-PVI). The amount of imidazolyl groups in Fe₃O₄-g-PVI was estimated to be 1.16 mmol/g by elemental analysis and thermal gravimetric analysis. The Fe₃O₄-g-PVI coordinated with Cu(II) to form the immobilized Cu(II)-PVI complex. The stoichiometric ratio between imidazolyl groups in Fe₃O₄-g-PVI and Cu(II) was found to be 4 and the complex formation constant (K) was calculated to be 5.6 × 10¹⁴ mol⁻⁴ L⁴. The immobilized Cu(II)-PVI complex was employed to catalyze the oxidative polymerization of 2,6-dimethylphenol (DMP) in water and showed excellent C O/C C selectivity to form PPO. After polymerization, the immobilized Cu(II)-PVI complex catalyst was collected by an external magnetic field and reused in the next run with additional immobilized catalyst and copper ions. After three runs of oxidative polymerization of DMP, the recovery rate of the immobilized Cu(II)-PVI catalyst was above 95% and the yield of PPO maintained as high as 79.2% with the addition of supplementary catalysts. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Aerobic oxidative polymerization of 2,6‐dimethylphenol in water with a highly efficient copper(II)– poly(N‐vinylimidazole) complex catalyst

A Cu(II)–poly(N‐vinylimidazole) (PVI) complex was prepared and used to catalyze the oxidative polymerization of 2,6‐dimethylphenol (DMP) to form poly(2,6‐dimethyl‐1,4‐phenylene oxide) (PPO) in water. The stoichiometric ratio between imidazole groups in PVI and copper ions was found to be 4 when continuous variation analysis was applied. Compared with a conventional Cu(II)–low‐molecular‐weight ligand complex, a high catalytic efficiency was observed in the polymerization of DMP catalyzed by the Cu(II)–PVI complex. The influence of the Cu(II)–PVI complex concentration and imidazole/Cu(II) molar ratio on the oxidative polymerization of DMP was studied. Both the yield and molecular weight of PPO increased significantly with the catalyst concentration and decreased with the imidazole/Cu(II) molar ratio. The molecular weight of PVI also played an important role in the improvement of the catalytic efficiency. The high catalytic efficiency of the Cu(II)–PVI complex may have been due to the concentration effect of the catalyst and substrate. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Ring‐opening polymerization of D,L‐lactide by rare earth 2,6‐dimethylaryloxide

Ring‐opening polymerization of D,L ‐lactide (LA) has been successfully carried out by using rare earth 2,6‐dimethylaryloxide (Ln(ODMP)₃) as single component catalyst or initiator for the first time. The effects of different rare earth elements, solvents, monomers and catalyst concentration as well as polymerization temperature and time on the polymerization were investigated. The results show that La(ODMP)₃ exhibits higher activity to prepare poly(D,L ‐lactide) (PLA) with a viscosity molecular weight of 4.5 × 10⁴ g mol^?1 and the conversion of 97 % at 100 °C in 45 min. The catalytic activity of Ln(ODMP)₃ has following sequence: La > Nd > Sm > Gd > Er > Y. A kinetic study has indicated that the polymerization is first order with respect to both monomer and catalyst concentration. The apparent activation energy of the polymerization of LA with La(ODMP)₃ is 69.6 kJ mol^?1. The analyses of polymer ends indicate that the LA polymerization proceeds according to ‘coordination–insertion’ mechanism with selective cleavage of the acyl–oxygen bond of the monomer. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Multiple active site Monte Carlo model for heterogeneous Ziegler‐Natta propylene polymerization

In this study, the kinetics of propylene polymerization catalyzed with the fourth heterogeneous Ziegler‐Natta catalyst is studied. More than one type of active site is present in the propylene polymerization based on an analysis of the GPC curves. A multiple active site kinetic model (MSmodel) is proposed by using Monte Carlo technique. Good agreements in the polymerization kinetics are achieved for fitting the kinetic profiles with the MSmodel. In addition, the MSmodel is used to describe the dynamic evolutions of the active sites and their effects on the propylene polymerization. The simulated results indicate that different types of active sites have different polymerization kinetics and the site type can affect the propylene polymerization kinetics. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Copper Recovery from EDTA − Chelating — Copper Wastewater in a Fluidized Bed

Copper recovery from ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)‐chelating‐Cu wastewater was conducted by means of electrochemical process using a Cu cathode and a PbO₂ anode. In this study, the effects of operating parameters including current density, initial pH, and electrolytic‐cell mode on the quality of copper deposit and current efficiency were studied. It was found that the key factors influencing deposit quality and current efficiency are current density and electrolytic cell mode as well as interactions between them. A better quality of copper deposit with high current efficiency can be obtained at lower current density (2.5 mA/cm²) in this fluidized packed‐bed electrolytic cell.     

Preparation and kinetic analysis of PS‐b‐PBA block copolymer by 4‐oxo‐TEMPO capped polystyrene macroinitiators

Polystyrene‐block‐poly(n‐butyl acrylate) block copolymers were prepared from 4‐oxo‐2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidinooxy (4‐oxo‐TEMPO) capped polystyrene macroinitiators at a high temperature, 165°C. It was found that the number‐average molecular weight of PBA chains in block copolymers could reach above 10,000 rapidly at early stage of polymerization with a narrow polydispersity index of 1.2–1.4, but after that, the polymerization seemed to be retarded. Furthermore, according to the kinetic analysis, the concentration of 4‐oxo‐TEMPO was increased mainly by the hydrogen transfer reaction of hydroxylamine (4‐oxo‐TEMPOH) to growing radicals during polymerization. This increase in 4‐oxo‐TEMPO concentration could retard the growth of polymer chains. The rate constant of the hydrogen transfer reaction of 4‐oxo‐TEMPOH to growing radicals, k_H, estimated by the kinetic model is about 9.33 × 10⁴M^‐1s^?1 at 165°C. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Polymerization of acrylonitrile catalyzed by single yttrium tris(2,6‐di‐tert‐butyl‐4‐methyl phenolate)

Polymerization of acrylonitrile was carried out using yttrium tris(2,6‐di‐tert‐butyl 4‐methyl‐phenolate) (Y(OAr)₃) as single component catalyst for the first time. The effects of concentrations of the monomer and catalyst, kinds of rare earth element and solvent, as well as temperature and polymerization time were investigated. The overall activation energy of polymerization in n‐hexane and THF mixture is 18.3 kJ mol^?1. Polyacrylonitriles (PANs) obtained by using Y(OAr)₃ in n‐hexane and THF mixture at 50 °C are predominantly atactic, while yellow PANs obtained in DMF under the same conditions have a syndiotactic‐rich configuration (>50%), and their highly branched and/or cyclized structures have also been found. © 2002 Society of Chemical Industry     

Regioregular improvement on the oxidative polymerization of poly‐3‐octylthiophenes by slow addition of oxidant at low temperature

Many pathways can be used to synthesize polythiophenes derivatives. The polycondensation reactions performed with organometallics are preferred since they lead to regioregular polymers (with high content of heat‐to‐tail coupling) which have enhanced conductivity and luminescence. However, these pathways have several steps; the reactants are highly moisture sensitive and expensive. On the other hand, the oxidative polymerization using FeCl₃ is a one‐pot reaction that requires less moisture sensitive reactants with lower cost, although the most common reaction conditions lead to polymers with low regioregularity. Here, we report that by changing the reaction conditions, such as FeCl₃ addition rate and reaction temperature, poly‐3‐octylthiophenes with different the regioregularities can be obtained, reaching about 80% of heat‐to‐tail coupling. Different molar mass distributions and polydispersivities were obtained. The preliminary results suggest that the oxidative polymerization process could be improved to yield polythiophenes with higher regioregularity degree and narrower molar mass distributions by just setting some reaction conditions. We also verified that it is possible to solvent extract part of the lower regioregular fraction of the polymer further improving the regioregularity degree. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Solid‐state polymerization of poly(ethylene 2,6‐naphthalate)

The solid‐state polymerization (SSP) of poly (ethylene 2,6‐naphthalate) (PEN) was studied and compared with that of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET). The SSP of PEN, like that of PET, could be satisfactorily described with a modified second‐order kinetic model, which was based on the assumptions that part of the end groups were inactive during SSP and that the overall SSP followed second‐order kinetics with respect to the active end‐group concentration. The proposed rate equation fit the data of the SSP of PEN quite well under various conditions. PEN prepolymers in pellet and cube forms with intrinsic viscosities (IVs) ranging from 0.375 to 0.515 dL/g, various particle sizes, and various carboxyl concentrations were solid‐state polymerized at temperatures ranging from 240 to 260°C to study the effects of various factors. The SSP data obtained in this study could be readily applied to the design of commercial PEN SSP processes. Because PEN and PET share the same SSP mechanism, in general, the SSP behaviors of PEN are similar to those of PET. Thus, the SSP rate of PEN increased with increasing temperature, increasing prepolymer IV, and decreasing prepolymer particle size. However, because of the much higher barrier properties of PEN, the prepolymer particle size and carboxyl concentration had much greater effects on the SSP of PEN than on the SSP of PET. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 1075–1084, 2007     

Kinetics of transesterification of dimethyl 2,6‐naphthalenedicarboxylate with 1,3‐propanediol

The kinetics of transesterification of dimethyl 2,6‐naphthalenedicarboxylate (2,6‐DMN) with 1,3‐propanediol has been studied in the presence of various catalysts. The reaction was followed by measurement of the amount of methanol released, and the formation of oligomers with time. The oligomers obtained were quantitatively determined by high‐pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). Interpretation of the experimental data showed that the transesterification followed Schulz‐Flory statistics. Therefore, one kinetic constant was sufficient to describe the kinetics of transesterification of 2,6‐DMN with 1,3‐propanediol. The kinetic constants observed, when different catalysts were employed, revealed the following activity sequence for the transesterification: Co(II) < Ti(IV) < Mn(II) < Zn(II). © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 80: 2039–2046, 2001     

Ring‐opening polymerization of ε‐caprolactone with a divalent samarium bis(phosphido) complex

The ring‐opening polymerization of ε‐caprolactone initiated with a divalent samarium bis(phosphido) complex [Sm(PPh₂)₂] is reported. The polymerization proceeded under mild reaction conditions and resulted in polyesters with number‐average molecular weights of 8.2 × 10³ to 12.5 × 10³. The yield and molecular weight of poly(ε‐caprolactone)s were dependent on the experimental parameters, such as the monomer/initiator molar ratio, the monomer concentration, the reaction temperature, and the polymerization time. The obtained polymers were characterized with Fourier transform infrared, NMR, gel permeation chromatography, and differential scanning calorimetry. On the basis of an end‐group analysis of low‐molecular‐weight polymers by NMR spectroscopy, a coordination–insertion mechanism is proposed for the polymerization. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 98: 1558–1564, 2005     

A computational study of 2,5‐dibenzylidenecyclopentanone and 2,6‐dibenzylidenecyclohexanone,model compounds for poly(arylidenecycloalkanones)

The relative energies of the three possible isomers of 2,5‐dibenzylidenecyclopentanone and of 2,6‐dibenzylidenecyclohexanone were calculated using Mechanics, MOPAC, and MOPAC with CI. The calculated lowest energy isomer of each compound agrees with known spectroscopic and crystallographic data. This work shows that the “SCF‐CI” calculations previously reported on 2,5‐dibenzylidenecyclopentanone do not predict the actual structure of the compound and should not be used to predict the structure of the corresponding polymer. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 74: 2255–2257, 1999     

Synthesis of poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) derivatives in water using water-soluble copper complex catalyst with natural ligands

Poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO) was synthesized by oxidative polymerization of 2,6-dimethylphenol (DMP) using a water-soluble copper complex catalyst under oxygen and with natural ligands in alkaline water. Arginine, guanine, adenine, cytosine, histidine, and folic acid were used as ligands for the copper complex. Arginine performed the best, with a yield of 72%, a number-average molecular weight (M_n) of 4400, and a molecular weight distribution (M_w/M_n) of 1.7. It was then used to optimize reaction conditions. Surfactants, temperature, and sodium hydroxide concentration were varied in copolymerization of DMP and 2-allyl-6-methylphenol (AMP) to produce allyl-containing PPO with 77% yield (M_n = 4500; M_w/M_n = 1.8). The optimum conditions were applied to copolymerization of DMP, AMP, and bisphenol A, leading to dihydroxyl PPO analogs containing thermally cross-linkable allyl groups. The thermal properties of these thermosetting PPOs were studied by differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy.     

Highly trans‐1,4‐specific polymerization of 1,3‐butadiene catalyzed by [2,6‐bis{(4S)‐ (−)‐isopropyl‐2‐oxazolin‐2‐yl}pyridine] chromium complex activated with modified methylaluminoxane

Chromium complexes with N,N,N‐tridentate ligands, LCrCl₃ (L = 2,6‐bis{(4S)‐(?)‐isopropyl‐2‐oxazolin‐2‐yl}pyridine ( 1 ), 2,2′:6′,2″‐terpyridine ( 2 ), and 4,4′,4″‐tri‐tert‐butyl‐2,2′:6′,2″‐terpyridine ( 3 )), were prepared. The structures of 1 and 2 were determined by X‐ray crystallography. Upon activation with modified methylaluminoxane (MMAO), 1 catalyzed the polymerization of 1,3‐butadiene, while 2 and 3 was inactive. The obtained poly(1,3‐butadiene) obtained with 1 ‐MMAO was found to have completely trans‐1,4 structure. The 1 ‐MMAO system also showed catalytic activity for the polymerization of isoprene to give polyisoprene with trans‐1,4 (68%) and cis‐1,4 (32%) structure. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

A kinetic model of nano‐CaO reactions with CO2 in a sorption complex catalyst

This article describes the reactive kinetics of nano‐CaO with CO₂ in a sorption complex catalyst. Based on an observation of nano‐CaO reaction with CO₂ has a fast surface reaction regime and followed by a slow diffusion‐controlled regime, a criterion has been proposed to divide the fast surface reaction regime and the slow diffusion‐controlled reaction regime. The kinetics of the fast surface reaction was studied, and a new ion reaction mechanism was proposed. A surface reaction‐controlled kinetic model with a Boltzmann equation, X = X_u?X_u/[1+exp((t?t₀)k/X_u)], was developed. Experiments using nano‐CaO to react with CO₂ in a fast surface reaction regime within a sorption complex catalyst were performed using thermogravimetric analysis at 773–873 K under a N₂ atmosphere with 0.010–0.020 MPa CO₂. The activation energy of the kinetic model for carbonation is 30.2 kJ/mol, and the average relative deviation of the sorption ratio is less than 9.8%. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2012     

Oxidative coupling of 2,6‐dimethylphenol catalyzed by copper(II) complexes in aqueous solution

The oxidative coupling reaction of 2,6‐dimethylphenol (DMP) with H₂O₂ catalyzed by four copper(II) complexes was investigated in Tris‐HNO₃ buffer solution at 25°C. The kinetics of formation of diphenoquinone (DPQ, 4‐(3,5‐dimethyl‐4‐oxo‐2,5‐cyclohexadienylidene)‐2,6‐dimethyl‐2,5‐cyclohexadienone) from DMP was studied in detail. The kinetic parameters k₂ and K_m were obtained in the pH range of 6.0–9.0. The copper(II) complexes exhibited the optimal catalytic activity at around pH 7.0. The pH effect was reasonably explicated by the catalytic kinetic model suggested in this work. The catalytic mechanism was discussed. The deprotonized associated radical LCu^I(OH^?)‐^?OOH was suggested as the possible predominant species to oxidize DMP. The C? C and C? O coupling products were analyzed and the ratio of poly (2,6‐dimethyl‐1,4‐phenylene ether) (PPE) to DPQ was also evaluated. Both in weak acidic (pH < 6.5) and in alkaline aqueous solution (pH > 8) were suitable to the C? O coupling reaction in our catalytic systems. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

A kinetic study on polymerization of methyl methacrylate with di‐t‐butyl perfumarate

Di‐t‐butyl perfumarate (DBPF) was found to induce the radical polymerizations of various vinyl monomers at 60°C in benzene, although the initiation activity was considerably lower than those of dimethyl 2,2′‐azobisisobutyrate and benzoyl peroxide. The polymerizations with DBPF showed a tendency of dead‐end polymerization. The polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) with DBPF was kinetically studied in chlorobenzene. The initial polymerization rate (R_p) was given by R_p = k [DBPF]^0.5 [MMA]^1.1. The overall activation energy of the polymerization was 47 kJ/mol, a very low value. Use of this value and activation energies of propagation and termination for MMA gave an unexpectedly low activation energy (65 kJ/mol) to the decomposition of DBPF, a t‐butyl perester, in the polymerization system. An ESR study on the polymerization of di‐2‐ethylhexyl itaconate with DBPF revealed that the observed dead‐end tendency comes from the consumption of DBPF. These results suggest that the initiator efficiency of DBPF is considerably low in the present polymerization systems. Some solvent effect was observed on the polymerization of MMA with DBPF. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 75: 218–224, 2000     

Influence of the metal centers of 2,6‐bis(imino)pyridyl transition metal complexes on ethylene polymerization/ oligomerization catalytic activities

Much work on bis(imino)pyridyl complexes with Fe(II) and Co(II) as ethylene polymerization catalysts has been reported in terms of designing new analogous ligands, while little work has been dedicated to the study of the effect of the metal center on catalyst performance. A series of bis(imino)pyridyl‐MCl₂ (M = Fe(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II)) transition metal complexes were synthesized, for which single crystals of the Co(II) and Cu(II) complexes were obtained. The crystal structures indicated that these complexes had similar coordination geometries. Being applied to ethylene polymerization at 25 °C and employing 500 equiv. of methylaluminoxane as co‐catalyst, the complexes with Fe(II), Co(II) and Ni(II) centers showed, respectively, catalytic activities of 1.25 × 10⁶ g (mol Fe)^?1 h^?1 Pa for ethylene polymerization, and 3.98 × 10⁵ g (mol Co)^?1 h^?1 Pa and 5.13 × 10³ g (mol Ni)^?1 h^?1 Pa for ethylene oligomerization. In contrast, the complexes with Cu(II) and Zn(II) centers were inactive. Crystal structure data showed that the coordination interactions provided a comparatively reliable quantification of the selectivity of the bis(imino)pyridyl ligand for the studied metal ions, which was in reasonable agreement with the Irving–Williams list. Moreover, for the Ni(II) and Cu(II) complexes, the strong coordination bonds and small N(imino)? M? N(imino) angles were unfavorable for several steps in the mechanism, such as ethylene coordination to the metal center, ethylene migratory insertion and olefin chain growth. All of these will reduce the speed of the overall reaction, indicating a decrease of catalytic efficiency in a given period. The poor activity of the Zn(II) complex for ethylene polymerization may be related to the reduction process by the alkylating agent. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry