One-pot synthesis of poly(cyclic ortho ester)s by the reaction of potassium perfluoroalkanoates with epibromohydrin using two-step catalysis of quaternary onium salts

One-pot synthesis of poly(cyclic ortho ester)s by the reaction of potassium perfluoroalkanoates with epibromohydrin (EBH) using quaternary onium salts is described. The reaction of potassium trifluoroacetate (KTFA) with EBH u sing quaternary onium salts;such as tetrabutylphosphonium bromide (TBPB) pr oduces the polymer with five-membered cyclic ortho ester structure in the b ackbone. This means that quaternary onium salts art as phase-transfer catal ysts in the first step and polymerization catalysts in the second step duri ng the reaction. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.