Indene → Isopropenyltoluene indene

Participants

Reaction Steps

Isopropenyltoluene, indene, dehydrated and purified toluene, and a boron trifluoride phenolate complex (1.6-times equivalent of phenol) diluted to 10-times volume with dehydrated and purified toluene were continuously supplied to an autoclave having a net capacity of 1270 ml equipped with a stirring blade, so that the ratio by mol of isopropenyltoluene to indene was 50/50 and the total supplied amount of isopropenyltoluene and indene was 1.0 l/h. The mixture was polymerized at a reaction temperature of 5° C. Subsequently, the reaction mixture was transferred to a second-stage autoclave and the polymerization reaction was continued at 5° C. Then, when the total retention time in the first- and second-stage autoclaves reached 2 hours, the reaction mixture was discharged continuously. After a period of time three times the retention time had elapsed, the polymerization reaction was completed. After completion of the polymerization, an aqueous 1N NaOH solution was added to the reaction mixture to terminate the polymerization reaction. The resulting reaction mixture was washed with large amounts of water five times; then, the solvent and unreacted monomers were distilled off under reduced pressure by an evaporator to obtain an isopropenyltoluene/indene copolymer (1). This copolymer had a softening point Tm of 145° C., a number average molecular weight Mn of 1190, and a weight average molecular weight Mw of 2040.

Provenance & Evidence