ENZYMATIC OXIDATIVE POLYMERIZATION OF BISPHENOL-A TO A NEW CLASS OF SOLUBLE POLYPHENOL

Enzymatic oxidative polymerization of bisphenol-A was carried out in a n aqueous organic solvent using horseradish and soybean peroxidases (H RP and SEP, respectively) as catalysts. The SBP-catalyzed polymerizati on in an equivolume mixture of methanol and phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) affords a new class of polyphenol quantitatively, which is readily sol uble in polar organic solvents such as acetone, methanol, N,N-dimethyl formamide, and dimethyl sulfoxide, but insoluble in chloroform, diethy l ether, and water. NMR and IR analyses show that the polymer is mainl y composed of a mixture of phenylene and oxyphenylene units. The effec ts of the type of enzyme and the solvent composition were systematical ly investigated in respect to the yield and molecular weight of the po lymer. The thermal treatment of the polymer produces an insoluble prod uct and the curing temperature and the molecular weight of the startin g polymer affect the thermal properties of the product. Crosslinking r eaction of the present polyphenol with an epoxide resin affords insolu ble polymeric material showing high thermal stability.