Methanol → Hydroxystyrene

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

In a 500-mL dropping funnel under nitrogen blanket, a solution was prepared by dissolving 76.0 g of 4-(1-ethoxyethoxy)styrene, 8.6 g of acenaphthylene, 12.7 g of 4-methylstyrene, 2.7 g of Monomer Z-1, and 10.4 g of dimethyl 2,2′-azobis(2-methylpropionate) (V601, Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.) in 112 g of propylene glycol monomethyl ether (PGME) as a solvent. A 500-mL polymerization flask was purged with nitrogen, charged with 75 g of PGME, and heated at 80° C., after which the solution was added dropwise to the flask over 4 hours. After the completion of dropwise addition, stirring was continued for 20 hours to effect polymerization while maintaining the temperature of 80° C. The polymerization solution was then cooled down to room temperature. To the solution were added 25 g of methanol and 1.25 g of oxalic acid dihydrate. The mixture was stirred for 3 hours at 50° C. The reaction solution was added dropwise to a mixture of 2,000 g of water and 50 g of methanol for precipitation. The copolymer precipitate was collected by filtration, washed twice with a mixture of 500 g of water and 10 g of methanol, and dried, yielding 65.0 g of a white hydroxystyrene copolymer, designated Polymer 3, having Mw=4,940 and Mw/Mn=1.63.

Provenance & Evidence