SOLUBLE POLYMER-BOUND PHASE-TRANSFER CATALYSTS

New soluble polymer-bound phase-transfer catalysts (PTCs) were synthes ized using commercially available oxidized polyethylene as the substra te polymer. These new polymeric compounds are bifunctional catalysts c ontaining ether and quaternary ammonium groups attached to a polyethyl ene skeleton. They were prepared by direct amidation of oxidized polye thylene with diamino Jeffamines - diamino derivatives of poly(alkene) glycols - followed by a quaternization reaction. Their catalytic activ ity was studied in the nucleophilic substitution reaction of bromine a toms in 1,6-dibromohexane by cyanide and iodide anions. The activity o f the PTCs was dependent on the nature of the starting reagents (oxidi zed polyethylene and polyglycol diamine), the procedure by which catal ysts were synthesized, and the conditions of the substitution reaction . The temperature-dependent solubility of the PTC facilitates their us e as homogeneous catalysts, since they can be separated out by filtrat ion at the end of the reaction. The new catalysts can then easily be s eparated from the products and recovered without loss of activity.