Synthesis of functional polymers by chemical modification of PECH and PECH-PEO with substituted phenolates

To prepare a family of functionalized polymers, we investigated the nucleop hilic substitution reaction of poly(epichlorohydrin) (PECH) and its 1:1 cop olymer with ethylene oxide (PECH-PEO) with a series of substituted phenolat es with electron-withdrawing and electron-donating groups. The basic charac ter of the phenolates involves an undesired dehydrochlorination side-reacti on and the subsequent chain scission process. Depending on the characterist ics of the substituent directly attached to the phenolate, polymers with di fferent proportions of substituted and vinylic units are obtained. In most cases, the modification is not quantitative and chloromethylated units rema in in the final polymer. Similarly, the extent of the cleavage reaction dep ends on the phenolate. The functional polymers have been structurally chara cterized by C-13-NMR spectroscopy. Their thermal properties have been evalu ated by differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetry. (C) 2000 El sevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.