SOLUBLE INTRAMOLECULARLY HYPERCROSSLINKED POLYSTYRENE

Soluble intramolecularly hypercrosslinked polystyrene (IH-PS) was obta ined by crosslinking linear PS with a bifunctional reagent as well as by an intramolecular Friedel-Crafts reaction of partially chloromethyl ated PS in diluted solutions. In both cases, the products obtained dis solve in toluene, swell with methanol and have a highly developed inne r surface area. These properties, combined with an extremely low visco sity of solutions and high sedimentation constants, indicate a rigid b ut open globular structure for the IH-PS macromolecules. Several physi cal-chemical methods have been employed to examine the shape and size of molecules of the product.