Reactions of glycerol with poly(ethylene ether carbonate) polyols

Poly(ethylene ether carbonate) polyols can be modified by chemical reactions with polyglycol modifiers under conditions of elevated temperatures and reduced pressures. The modifier becomes chemically incorporated into the modified polyol and is used to control properties such as moisture sensitivity, CO₂ content, T_g, density, etc. in the resultant polyol. However, glycerol cannot be used as a modifier for poly(ethylene ether carbonate) polyols under the same conditions since it reacts with poly(ethylene ether carbonate) polyols by a transesterification reaction sequence to form glyceryl carbonate. As the temperature is increased, the glyceryl carbonate decomposes to yield glycidol and carbon dioxide. These reactions are conveniently followed by ¹³C-NMR. The preparation of glyceryl carbonate by this process has not been previously reported.     

Molecular weight advancement of poly(ethylene ether carbonate) polyols

Poly(ethylene ether carbonate) polyols have been prepared from ethylene carbonate and monoethylene glycol (MEG) or diethylene glycol (DEG) using sodium stannate trihydrate as catalyst. When these polyols (catalyst removed) are heated to elevated temperatures (< 180°C) at reduced Pressures, volatile impurities are removed, as distillate, molecular weight builds in a controllable manner. This is thought to be a transesterification process in which ? OC(O)CH₂CH₂OCH₂CH₂OH end groups on one molecule react with carbonate moieties on a second molecule with loss of DEG. These advanced polyols form rapidly with high CO₂ retention and relatively low polydispersity. This process has been characterized by size exclusion chromatography, quantitative capillary gas chromatography of the distillates, ¹³C-NMR of the products, and alkaline hydrolysis of the products followed by quantification of the resultant glycols. The advanced polyols are largely alternating copolymers of DEG and CO₂. They are valuable polyols for polyurethane fabrication.     

Toughening of epoxy resins by modification with aromatic polyesters

Aromatic polyesters, prepared by the reaction of phthalic or isophthalic acids and α,ω-alkanediols, were used to reduce the brittleness of bisphenol-A diglycidyl ether epoxy resin cured with methyl hexahydrophthalic anhydride. These polyesters were effective as modifiers for toughening of the epoxy resin system. The most suitable composition for modification of the epoxy resins was inclusion of 20 wt % of poly(ethylene phthalate) (MW 7200), which resulted in a 150% increase in the fracture toughness (K_IC) of the cured resin at no expense of its mechanical properties. The effectiveness of poly(alkylene phthalate)s as modifiers decreased with increasing the chain length of alkylene units. The toughening mechanism was discussed based on the morphological and dynamic mechanical behaviors of the modified epoxy resin system.     

酯交换法合成碳酸二甲酯的催化剂研究

用ＺＳＭ－５分子筛作为甲醇和碳酸乙烯酯反应碳酸二甲酯 系的催化剂,通过对ＺＳＭ－５进行阳离子交换和浸渍法改性发现,ＺＳＭ－５分子筛碱性中心对反应起主要作用,适当强度的碱中心更有利于反应的正向进行。当甲 碳酸 乙酯的摩尔比为４：１,液时空速１ｍｌ／ｇｈ,反应温度１００℃,压力０．７ＭＰａ时,用碳酸钠改改性ＺＳＭ－５作催化剂,碳酸乙烯酯的转化率为５０％。     

Glycolyzed poly(ethylene terephthalate) waste and castor oil-based polyols for waterborne polyurethane adhesives containing hexamethoxymethyl melamine

Glycolysis of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) waste using different molar ratio of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG400), was used to produce saturated hydroxyl-functional polyester polyols with castor oil (CO) by transesterification process. The waterborne polyurethane (WBPU) adhesives were synthesized from these saturated polyester polyols, isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), dimethylolpropionic acid (DMPA), and hexamethoxymethyl melamine (HMMM) as cross-linking agent by a conventional prepolymer process. The glycolyzed polyols and polyester polyos formations were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and the molecular weights were determined using gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The cross-linking reaction between WBPU and HMMM was verified using FTIR and ¹H NMR analysis. Thermal properties were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TG). Thermal stability of cross-linked WBPU significantly increased with decreasing castor oil content in the process of transesterification to obtain polyester polyol as a soft segment. The T_15% and T_50% (the temperature where 15 and 50% weight loss occurred) of WBPU increased with the decreasing of castor oil content in the obtained polyester polyols, caused by the steric hindrance of polyester polyol with higher castor oil content, in the process of cross-linking reactions with HMMM. The physico-mechanical properties of WBPU, such as hardness, adhesion test, and gloss of the dried films were also determined considering the effect of participation of HMMM in cross-linking reactions with polyurethane, on coating properties.     

Synthesis of oligocarbonate diols and their characterization by MALDI-TOF spectrometry

A method of the synthesis of oligocarbonate diols from five-membered cyclic carbonates and aliphatic diols using azeotropic solvents is presented. The influence of a catalyst and reaction conditions on the alkylene oxide and alkylene carbonate insertion into macrodiol molecules were studied and the reaction mechanism is discussed. The oligomeric products were analyzed by means of MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. The transesterification reaction between propylene carbonate and diols containing six or more carbon atoms in a molecule carried out in the presence of the coordination catalysts such as tin or zinc carboxylate leads to almost pure oligocarbonate diols.     

Polyurethane elastomers based on molecular weight advanced poly(ethylene ether carbonate) polyols. IV. Effects of poly(propylene glycol) modified diols

A series of polyurethane elastomers with a (A{BC}_m)n type of structure have been prepared and characterized based on poly(propylene glycol) modified poly(ethylene ether carbonate) polyols, where the poly(propylene glycol) content and block length were varied systematically. Strength and modulus properties showed a marked dependence on modifier level and exhibited synergistic property improvements at 25–50 wt % modifier, relative to both unmodified poly(ethylene ether carbonate) diol and poly(propylene glycol) controls. DMA results indicated an increased modulus for the modified plaques throughout the rubbery plateau region, with higher thermal dissociation temperatures. Excellent organic solvent resistance was maintained with 25–50 wt % poly(propylene glycol) modification in the soft segment. Chemical structure of the polyurethane elastomers was established by proton and ¹³C-NMR spectroscopy. The morphology of these modified polyurethanes appears to be quite complex. Since the modified soft segments are block copolymers of blocks with a tendency toward immiscibility, some microphase separation within the soft segment domains of the polyurethane polymers might be expected. The soft segment T_g is highest where properties are maximized, suggesting changes in phase mixing. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Nanofilled polyols for viscoelastic polyurethane foams

The use of polyether polyols is common in polyurethane industry, particularly in soft PU applications. In particular, viscoelastic foams, characterized by slow recovery after compression, are obtained using poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) polyols. Nanofilled polyols can be used for the production of viscoelastic foams with improved fire resistance properties. The high polarity of polyether polyols is responsible of a poor affinity with the organic modifiers used in commercial organically modified montmorillonite (omMMT). In this work, organically modified montmorillonites were prepared, having an improved affinity with the polyether polyols used for the production of soft PU foams. The montmorillonite was modified by using polyetheramines with different ethyleneoxide/propyleneoxide amounts. A strongly intercalated/exfoliated structure was obtained after mixing the polyol with the omMMT. The viscosity increased by three orders of magnitude and the diffraction angles of the MMT measured by x‐ray analysis decreased to values lower than 1.5°. The intercalated structure was preserved after the curing stage, when the isocyanate was added to the polyol/omMMT. The resulting polyurethane had an irregular open cell structure, and was characterized by a mechanical properties comparable to those of unfilled polyurethane. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

乙烯基三（β-甲氧基乙氧基）硅烷的合成工艺研究

以乙烯基三氯硅烷（ViSiCl3）、甲醇（MeOH）及乙二醇甲醚为主要原料,采用醇解、酯交换两步反应合成了ViSi（OEtOMe）3。确定了其最佳醇解反应条件为：n（ViSiCl3）：n（MeOH）为1：3.6,反应温度为80℃,在此条件下中间体ViSi（OMe）3收率在85%左右;最佳酯交换反应条件为：n（ViSi（OMe）3）：n（乙二醇甲醚）为1：3.6,反应温度为100℃,反应时间为1.5～2.0h,产物ViSi（OEtOMe）3酯交换的单程收率可达到92%。最后采用GC-MS法对最终产物结构进行了表征。     

Polyurethane elastomers based on molecular weight advanced poly(ethylene ether carbonate) polyols. III. Effects of diisocyanate modified diols

A series of diisocyanate-modified, molecular weight advanced poly(ethylene ether carbonate) diols has been prepared, characterized, and formulated into polyurethane elastomers using a prepolymer process. Properties were compared to a polyurethane elastomer control in which the only variable was the diisocyanate modification. The diisocyanate modification produces polymers with increased modulus (445–730% at 25°C), improved tensile strength and hardness properties and reduced (improved) coefficients of linear thermal expansion, while still passing the notched Izod impact test. The tensile strength at break increases with increasing number of urethane moieties in the soft segment and the elongation at break also increases. The plaques studied appear to have a three-phase morphology—a soft segment continuous phase containing amorphous hard segment, an amorphous hard segment phase plasticized by about 11% of the soft segment material, and a crystalline hard segment. The polymers based on the diisocyanate modified polyols are significantly more phase mixed than the control due to the increased amount of hard segment-soft segment interactions taking place. The improved properties of the polymers made with the modified polyols are due to their higher hydrogen bonding protential which gives more physically crosslinked polymers.     

Synthesis of ethylene carbonate from urea and ethylene glycol over zinc/iron oxide catalyst

BACKGROUND: Ethylene carbonate (EC) was synthesised via urea and ethylene glycol (EG) over zinc/iron oxide catalyst. By so doing, the by‐product, EG, generated in the process of producing dimethyl carbonate by the transesterification route was converted back to the raw material, EC. The reaction mechanism of EC synthesis was also investigated by means of gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and in situ Fourier transform infrared/attenuated total reflection spectroscopy. RESULTS: Suitable conditions for the preparation of zinc/iron oxide catalyst were as follows: zinc acetate and iron nitrate as precursors, Zn/Fe molar ratio 8:1, calcination temperature 350 °C and calcination time 4 h. Characterisation by X‐ray diffraction revealed two different crystal phases: ZnO and ZnFe₂O₄. The highest yield of EC (66.1%) was obtained under the following conditions: reaction temperature 150 °C, reaction time 2.5 h, catalyst weight percentage 1.5% and urea/EG molar ratio 1:8. The study of the reaction mechanism revealed that the reaction for the synthesis of EC proceeded in two steps. CONCLUSION: The synergistic effect of ZnO and ZnFe₂O₄ promoted the catalytic performance of zinc/iron oxide. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

镁铝复合氧化物负载NaAlO2催化剂制备及其催化性能研究

以恒定pH共沉淀法制备的镁铝水滑石为前驱体,NaAlO₂为活性组分,在一定温度下焙烧得到镁铝复合金属氧化物负载铝酸钠催化剂。利用XRD、SEM、BET、CO₂-TPD、DSC-TG等手段对催化剂进行表征,发现通过高温焙烧可实现铝酸钠在镁铝复合金属氧化物表面的稳定分散。该催化剂可在温和反应条件下催化碳酸乙烯酯和甲醇酯交换反应合成碳酸二甲酯（DMC）和乙二醇（EG）,表现出高催化活性及对产物的高选择性。在醇酯物质的量比为10∶1、4 h、65 ℃条件下,DMC收率为74.8%,对DMC和EG的选择性均为100%。循环实验过程中,催化剂表现出较好的稳定性,使用5次后催化活性未见明显下降。该催化剂制备方法简单、成本低,催化剂易与产物分离,可多次重复使用,是一种低温高活性酯交换固体碱催化剂,具有一定的工业应用前景。     

Transesterification in poly(ethylene terephthalate) and poly(ethylene naphthalate 2,6-dicarboxylate) blends: model compounds study

Kinetics of transesterification reaction in poly(ethylene terephthalate)-poly(ethylene naphthalate 2,6-dicarboxylate), PET-PEN, blends resulting from melt processing was simulated using model compounds of ethylene dibenzoate (BEB) and ethylene dinaphthoate (NEN). The exchange reaction between BEB and NEN was followed by ¹H NMR spectroscopy using signals from the aliphatic protons of ethylene glycol moieties at 4.66 and 4.78 ppm, respectively. The first-order kinetics was established under pseudo-first-order conditions for both reactants. Thus, the overall transesterification reaction was second order reversible. The reversibility was confirmed experimentally by heating a mixed sequence of 1-benzoate 2-naphthoate ethylene (BEN) under similar conditions. Both forward reaction of the equimolar amounts of the reagents and reverse reaction came to equilibrium at the same molar ratio of the reactants and reaction products of roughly 0.25:0.50:0.25 for BEB, BEN, and NEN, respectively. The rate equation for the transesterification reaction in the model system was modified using half-concentration of BEN, which is the only effective in the intermolecular exchange. Direct ester-ester exchange was deduced as a prevailing mechanism for the transesterification reaction under the conditions studied, and the values of equilibrium and rate constants, as well as other basic thermodynamic and kinetic parameters were determined. The use of Zn(OAc)₂ as a catalyst resulted in a significant decrease in the activation enthalpy of transesterification, which might be due to the partial switch of the reaction mechanism from primarily pseudo-homolytic to more heterolytic where Zn^II acts as a Lewis base which binds to the ester carbonyl oxygen.     

碳酸乙烯酯酯交换合成碳酸二苯酯

为利用碳酸乙烯酯固定的CO2,拓展碳酸二苯酯的合成方法,对碳酸乙烯酯酯交换合成碳酸二苯酯的反应进行了热力学分析,并考察了催化剂、反应温度、催化剂质量分数和反应时间对合成碳酸二苯酯的影响。结果表明:碳酸乙烯酯与苯酚的酯交换反应在热力学上是不可行的,而将苯酚乙酰化后可以实现由碳酸乙烯酯经酯交换合成碳酸二苯酯;不同催化剂催化酯交换反应时,n-Bu2SnO显示了最高的酯交换选择性。当反应温度为190℃,碳酸乙烯酯与乙酸苯酯的摩尔比为1∶2,n-Bu2SnO质量分数8%,反应时间10 h时,碳酸乙烯酯的转化率为15.1%,酯交换选择性64.2%,碳酸二苯酯的收率7.5%。     

Structural features of poly(alkylene ether carbonate) diols and intermediates formed during their preparation

Capillary vapor-phase chromatography and carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) have been used to elucidate the structure of poly(ethylene ether carbonate) diols and certain intermediates produced by the oligomerization of ethylene carbonate (EC) using monoethylene glycol (MEG) or diethylene glycol (DEG) as initiator and catalyzed by sodium stannate trihydrate. These diols are alternating copolymers of carbon dioxide and DEG which also contain smaller amounts of higher glycols as determined by comparing their ¹³C NMR spectra to the spectra of model compounds. Diethylene glycol is an important reaction intermediate and is present in steady-state concentrations. Although both 2-hydroxyethyl carbonate and 2-hydroxyethyl ether end groups are present at an intermediate stage in the reaction, only 2-hydroxyethyl ether end groups are present at high EC conversion. Molecular weight builds as a smooth function of conversion and time.     

Sustainable Dimethyl Carbonate Production from Ethylene Oxide and Methanol

A large-scale dimethyl carbonate (DMC) production process from ethylene oxide (EO), CO₂, and methanol was simulated and optimized. Unlike most industrial processes of DMC production, the direct conversion of EO and CO₂ to ethylene carbonate (EC) and EC transesterification to DMC were performed in a single reactor. The reaction volume and the reactor operating pressure were selected as decision variables and evaluated. The key performance parameters, e.g., conversion per pass and CO₂ intensity, were compared with conventional commercialized routes or novel promising processes in the literature.     

Oligocarbonate diols from ethylene carbonate—Optimization of the synthesis process

Oligocarbonate diols due to their resistance to oxidation and hydrolysis are particularly valuable components of polyurethanes for biomedical applications. It was shown that for their synthesis “green monomer,” ethylene carbonate can be used in the reaction with 1,6‐hexanediol, instead of usually applied toxic and harmful phosgene. Depending on reaction conditions, besides ester exchange leading to the desired product, competitive etherification is often observed. To optimize the reaction conditions leading to oligocarbonates of high molecular weight without oxyethylene fragments, the method of an experimental design was applied. Such approach enabled the estimation of the influence of reaction temperature, ethylene carbonate to 1,6‐hexanediol molar ratio and catalyst (NaCl) concentration on the molar mass of oligocarbonate diol, content of ether bonds and reaction time. Application of central composite method as an experimental design allowed not only to choose the optimal set of conditions, but also the coefficients of the regression equation were interpreted in a chemical way. Oligocarbonate diols obtained under optimal conditions were used for synthesis poly(urethane‐urea)s which exhibited very good mechanical properties (tensile strength 45–50 MPa and elongation at break up to 500%). © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Kinetics measurement of ethylene-carbonate synthesis via a fast transesterification by microreactors

High-purity ethylene carbonate (EC) is widely used as battery electrolyte, polycarbonate monomer, organic intermediate, and so on. An economical and sustainable route to synthesize high-purity ethylene carbonate (EC) via the transesterification of dimethyl carbonate (DMC) with ethylene glycol (EG) is provided in this work. However, this reaction is so fast that the reaction kinetics, which is essential for the industrial design, is hard to get by the traditional measuring method. In this work, an easy-to-assemble microreactor was used to precisely determine the reaction kinetics for the fast transesterification of DMC with EG using sodium methoxide as catalyst. The effects of flow rate, microreactor diameter, catalyst concentration, reaction temperature, and reactant molar ratio were investigated. An activity-based pseudo-homogeneous kinetic model, which considered the non-ideal properties of reaction system, was established to describe the transesterification of DMC with EG. Detailed kinetics data were collected in the first 5 min. Using these data, the parameters of the kinetic model were correlated with the maximum average error of 11.19%. Using this kinetic model, the kinetic data at different catalyst concentrations and reactant molar ratios were predicted with the maximum average error of 13.68%, suggesting its satisfactory prediction performance.     

Simultaneous Synthesis of Dimethyl Carbonate and Poly（ethylene terephthalate） Using Alkali Metals as Catalysts

Dimethyl carbonate （DMC） and poly（ethylene terephthalate） was simultaneously synthesized by the transesterification of ethylene carbonate （EC） with dimethyl terephthalate （DMT） in this paper. This reaction is an excellent green chemical process without poisonous substance. Various alkali metals were used as the catalysts. The results showed alkali metals had catalytic activity in a certain extent. The effect of reaction condition was also studied. When the reaction was carded out under the following conditions： the reaction temperature 250℃, molar ratio of EC to DMT 3 ： 1, reaction time 3h, and catalyst amount 0.004 （molar ratio to DMT）, the yield of DMC was 68.9%.     

Polymers with Esters of Phosphoric Acid Units: From Synthesis,Models of Biopolymers to Polymer?Inorganic Hybrids

Syntheses, some properties, and applications of the poly(alkylene phosphate)s prepared either by ring-opening polymerization (ROP) or by polycondensation are described mostly on the basis of the data from our laboratories. The ROP of some cyclic phosphates and H-phosphonates are living and/or controlled process. Transesterification of the products of the reaction of an excess of dimethylphosphonate with glycols leads to polymers with M_n close to 5×10⁴. Poly(alkylene phosphate)s with five or six atoms in repeating units bear resemblance to the main chains of nucleic and teichoic acids. These and similar poly(alkylene phosphate)s with different repeating units were used as liquid membranes for the efficient separation of cations as well as to modify the medium for CaCO₃ crystallization. In this latter process, a diblock copolymer with ionic and nonionic block was used. Poly(alkylene phosphate)s constituted the ionic block and the nonionic block was formed from poly(ethylene glycol); together with CaCO₃ polymer inorganic hybrids were formed.