Other hydrocarbon polymers

The intensive investigation of polyacetylene s electrical, magnetic, and optical properties generated considerable enthusiasm for the field of electroactive polymers and, as the limitations of polyacetylene became clear, many research groups sought alternative materials which would combine interesting electrical properties with more acceptable stability and processing characteristics. 

Workers in the Allied Corporation have developed an approach in which the synthesis of the polymer and its oxidation into the conducting regime are carried out in one step and in solution. Thus, for example, p-terphenyl can be dissolved in ASF3 containing ASF5 which both oxidatively couples the 

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Before fluorination, the dielectric constant ofpoly(bisbenzocyclobutene) was 2.8, and this value was reduced to 2.1 after plasma treatment. No data were reported in the paper on characterization of structure or properties, except for the dielectric constant of the modified poly(bisbenzocyclobutene). The authors did report that the thermal stability offluorinatedpoly(vinylidenefluoride) was inferior to the original poly(vinylidenefluoride) when treated in a similar way. One of the probable reasons for the low thermal stability is that the NF3 plasma degraded the polymer. According to their results, the thickness of fluorinated poly(bisbenzo-cyclobutene) was reduced by 30%. The same phenomenon was observed for other hydrocarbon polymers subjected to the NF3 plasma process. A remaining question is whether plasma treatment can modify more than a thin surface layer of the cured polymer Additionally, one of the side products generated was hydrogen fluoride, which is a serious drawback to this approach. 

These catalyst systems are also used to form other hydrocarbon polymers such as a variety of PPs. 

The wetting properties of polyacetylene have been studied by Schonhom et al. 380) who measured a critical surface tension of 51 mN m 1, considerably higher than for other hydrocarbon polymers. This value was attributed to oxidation of the surface as no change was observed on further oxidation. Treatment of polyacetylene with aqueous potassium permanganate renders it hydrophilic, reduces the contact angle for water from 72° to 10° and renders the structure more water-permeable 381)... 

Other hydrocarbon polymers Polypropylene CO2 163-208 45-95 6.7-38 UCST [52] Laser CP, constant, vol. ... 

The miscibility of PP with other hydrocarbon polymers has also been studied recently. Yamaguchi et al. [7] examined blends of PP with ethylene-hexene and ethylene-butene copolymers by microscopy and thermal analysis. The copolymers that had large amounts of the... 

Fluorinated polymers have many feamres different from common hydrocarbon polymers. Since they have high free volume and low cohesive energy density (CED), these fluoropolymers can be dissolved in selected fluorinated solvents. They show extraordinarily high gas and vapor permeabihty (Pinnau and Toy, 1996b Merkel et al., 1999 Polyakov et al., 2003, 2004). Generally, fluoropolymers have lower CED than any other hydrocarbon polymers, resulting in both enhanced gas solubihty and reduced activation energy of diffusion for small molecules. 

Chemical Properties. A combination of excellent chemical and mechanical properties at elevated temperatures result in high performance service in the chemical processing industry. Teflon PEA resins have been exposed to a variety of organic and inorganic compounds commonly encountered in chemical service (26). They are not attacked by inorganic acids, bases, halogens, metal salt solutions, organic acids, and anhydrides. Aromatic and ahphatic hydrocarbons, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, ethers, amines, esters, chlorinated compounds, and other polymer solvents have Httle effect. However, like other perfluorinated polymers,they react with alkah metals and elemental fluorine. 

Almost all of the cyclohexane that is produced in concentrated form is used as a raw material in the first step of nylon-6 and nylon-6,6 manufacture. Cyclohexane also is an excellent solvent for cellulose ethers, resins, waxes (qv), fats, oils, bitumen, and mbber (see Cellulose ethers Resins, natural Fats AND FATTY OILS Rubber, NATURAL). When used as a solvent, it usually is in admixture with other hydrocarbons. However, a small amount is used as a reaction diluent in polymer processes. 

SASOL. SASOL, South Africa, has constmcted a plant to recover 50,000 tons each of 1-pentene and 1-hexene by extractive distillation from Fischer-Tropsch hydrocarbons produced from coal-based synthesis gas. The company is marketing both products primarily as comonomers for LLDPE and HDPE (see Olefin polymers). Although there is still no developed market for 1-pentene in the mid-1990s, the 1-hexene market is well estabhshed. The Fischer-Tropsch technology produces a geometric carbon-number distribution of various odd and even, linear, branched, and alpha and internal olefins however, with additional investment, other odd and even carbon numbers can also be recovered. The Fischer-Tropsch plants were originally constmcted to produce gasoline and other hydrocarbon fuels to fill the lack of petroleum resources in South Africa. 

Some of the most difficult heterophase systems to characterize are those based on hydrocarbon polymers such as mbber-toughened polypropylene or other blends of mbbers and polyolefins. Eecause of its selectivity, RuO staining has been found to be usehil in these cases (221,222,230). Also, OsO staining of the amorphous blend components has been reported after sorption of double-bond-containing molecules such as 1,7-octadiene (231) or styrene (232). In these cases, the solvent is preferentially sorbed into the amorphous phase, and the reaction with OsO renders contrast between the phases. 

Other high molecular weight hydrocarbon polymers are not biodegradable, but oligomers of <7j -l,4-isoprene (83), butadiene (84), and styrene (85), are degradable. And there has been further confirmation of biodegradation of oligomeric ethylene (86). 

Heteroatom Chain Backbone Polymers. This class of polymers includes polyesters, which have been widely studied from the initial period of research on biodegradable polymers, polyamides, polyethers, polyacetals, and other condensation polymers. Their linkages are quite frequendy found in nature and these polymers are more likely to biodegrade than hydrocarbon-based polymers. 

Commercial polystyrenes are normally rather pure polymers. The amount of styrene, ethylbenzene, styrene dimers and trimers, and other hydrocarbons is minimized by effective devolatilization or by the use of chemical initiators (33). Polystyrenes with low overall volatiles content have relatively high heat-deformation temperatures. The very low content of monomer and other solvents, eg, ethylbenzene, in PS is desirable in the packaging of food. The negligible level of extraction of organic materials from PS is of cmcial importance in this appHcation. 

The oxidation of hydrocarbons, including hydrocarbon polymers, takes the form of a free-radical chain reaction. As a result of mechanical shearing, exposure of ultraviolet radiation, attack by metal ions such as those of copper and manganese as well as other possible mechanisms, a hydrocarbon molecule breaks down into two radicals... 

Many monomers have been copolymerised with ethylene using a variety of polymerisation systems, in some cases leading to commercial products. Copolymerisation of ethylene with other olefins leads to hydrocarbon polymers with reduced regularity and hence lower density, inferior mechanical properties, lower softening point and lower brittle point. 

Like NR, SBR is an unsaturated hydrocarbon polymer. Hence unvulcanised compounds will dissolve in most hydrocarbon solvents and other liquids of similar solubility parameter, whilst vulcanised stocks will swell extensively. Both materials will also undergo many olefinic-type reactions such as oxidation, ozone attack, halogenation, hydrohalogenation and so on, although the activity and detailed reactions differ because of the presence of the adjacent methyl group to the double bond in the natural rubber molecule. Both rubbers may be reinforced by carbon black and neither can be classed as heat-resisting rubbers. 

As a class the aliphatic polyalkenamers have low values due to a combination of low chain stiffness and low interchain attraction. The presence of double bonds has the effect of increasing the flexibility of adjacent single bonds (see Chapter 4) and overall this leads to a reduction in. Thus in the sequence from polydecenamer down to polypentenamer an increase in the double bond concentration leads to a lowering of Tg. On the other hand the Tg of polybutenamer, i.e. poly butadiene, is somewhat higher than that of polypentenamer, presumably because the proportion of stiff links, i.e. double bonds, becomes sufficiently high to override the flexibilising effect on adjacent chains. Consequently the polypentenamers have the lowest Tg values known for hydrocarbon polymers (cis- -114°C, trans- -97°C). 

In addition to its water solubility poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) is soluble in a very wide range of materials, including aliphatic halogenated hydrocarbons (methylene dichloride, chloroform), many monohydric and polyhdric alcohols (methanol, ethanol, ethylene glycol), some ketones (acetyl acetone) and lactones (a-butyrolactone), lower aliphatic acids (glacial acetic acid) and the nitro-paraffins. The polymer is also compatible with a wide range of other synthetic polymers, with gums and with plasticisers. 

The results of chain transfer studies with different polymer radicals are compared in Table XIV. Chain transfer constants with hydrocarbon solvents are consistently a little greater for methyl methacrylate radicals than for styrene radicals. The methyl methacrylate chain radical is far less effective in the removal of chlorine from chlorinated solvents, however. Vinyl acetate chains are much more susceptible to chain transfer than are either of the other two polymer radicals. As will appear later, the propagation constants kp for styrene, methyl methacrylate, and vinyl acetate are in the approximate ratio 1 2 20. It follows from the transfer constants with toluene, that the rate constants ktr,s for the removal of benzylic hydrogen by the respective chain radicals are in the ratio 1 3.5 6000. Chain transfer studies offer a convenient means for comparing radical reactivities, provided the absolute propagation constants also are known. 

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