Chloromethylated polystyrene contrast

Although phase transfer catalysis is certainly an important and extremely versatile tool for the chemical modification of chloromethyl polystyrene, it is not necessarily always the best method as excellent results can also be obtained for some nucleophilic displacements when DMF or even DMSO (at low temperature to avoid oxidation to the carboxaldehyde polymer) are used as solvent for the nucleophile. For example, we prefer to use a solution of sodium cyanide in DMF to prepare cyanomethyl polystyrene from I rather than using a different solvent and phase transfer conditions, and we routinely prepare iodomethyl polystyrene from I by reaction with sodium or potassium iodide in acetone rather than under the conditions of Gozdz (Ref. 25). Recent work by Bied-Charreton et al. (Ref. 32) has also shown that excellent results could be obtained even under classical conditions in the transformation of I into its malononitrile derivative if the chloromethylated polymer is first transformed into the more reactive iodomethyl derivative this is in sharp contrast with earlier data from the same laboratory (Ref. 33). 

Even in solution the relative rigidity of the polymer support can play a significant role in the reactivity of attached functional groups. Contrasting studies conducted with chloromethylated derivatives of poly(arylene ether sulfone) (Tg 175°C), phenoxy resin (Tg= 65°C) and polystyrene (Tg= 105°C) allow evaluation of chain rigidity effects. We have shown that the rates of quaternization of chloromethylated poly(arylene ether sulfones) and phenoxy resin deviate from the anticipated second order process at... 

We synthesized 8 by the one-step reaction of [Ph4(Tl -C4CO)]Ru(CO)3 with benzyl chloride. In contrast to previous alcohol racemization catalysts, 8 was stable in the air during racemization [30]. The racemization was performed even under 1 atm of molecular oxygen. Thus, alcohol DKR was for the first time possible with 8 in the air at room temperature (R)-l-phenylethyl acetate (99% yield, greater than 99%e.e.) was obtained from 1-phenylethanol by using 4mol% of 8, CALB and isopropenyl acetate in the presence of potassium phosphate (Scheme 1.22). This catalyst system was effective for both benzylic and aliphatic alcohols. The synthetic method for 8 was applied to the preparation of a polymer-bound derivative (9). Hydroxymethyl polystyrene was reacted with 4-(chloromethyl)benzoyl chloride to... 

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