Poly , conventional synthesis

During the last ten years, many research results have shown that oxidative polymerization catalyzed by peroxidases is a convenient, resource-saving, and environmentally friendly method for synthesizing phenol polymers. In contrast to the conventional synthesis of phenol-formaldehyde resins, the peroxidase-catalyzed polymerization of phenol proceeds under mild reaction conditions (room temperature, neutral pH). The polymerization of toxic phenols has promising potential for the cleaning of wastewaters. Moreover, the polymerization of phenols from renewable resources is expected to attract much attention in times of worldwide demand for the replacement of petroleum-derived raw materials. Besides the environment-protecting aspects of this innovative type of polymerization, the enzyme-catalyzed polymerization represents a convenient method to reahze new types of functional polyaromatic polymers. Phenol polymers made by peroxidase catalysis should have much potential for electronic and optical apphcations. The synthesis of functional phenol polymers is facihtated by the fact that poly-... 

The Ullman reaction has long been known as a method for the synthesis of aromatic ethers by the reaction of a phenol with an aromatic halide in the presence of a copper compound as a catalyst. It is a variation on the nucleophilic substitution reaction since a phenolic salt reacts with the halide. Nonactivated aromatic halides can be used in the synthesis of poly(arylene edier)s, dius providing a way of obtaining structures not available by the conventional nucleophilic route. The ease of halogen displacement was found to be the reverse of that observed for activated nucleophilic substitution reaction, that is, I > Br > Cl F. The polymerizations are conducted in benzophenone with a cuprous chloride-pyridine complex as a catalyst. Bromine compounds are the favored reactants.53,124 127 Poly(arylene ether)s have been prepared by Ullman coupling of bisphenols and... 

Our interest in the synthesis of poly (amino acids) with modified backbones is based on the hypothesis that the replacement of conventional peptide bonds by nonamide linkages within the poIy(amino acid) backbone can significantly alter the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the resulting polymer. Preliminary results (see below) point to the possibility that the backbone modification of poly(amino acids) circumvents many of the limitations of conventional poly(amino acids) as biomaterials. It seems that backbone-modified poly (amino acids) tend to retain the nontoxicity and good biocompatibility often associated with conventional poly (amino acids)... 

The easy processibility of hydroxyproline-derived polyesters is in marked contrast to the unfavorable material properties of most conventional poly (amino acids) that cannot usually be processed into shaped objects by conventional polymer-processing techniques (7). Furthermore, since the synthesis of poly(N-acylhydroxyproline esters) does not require the expensive N-carboxyanhydrides as monomeric starting materials, poly(N-acylhydroxyproline esters) should be significantly less expensive than derivatives of conventional poly(hy-droxyproline). 

In an attempt to identify new, biocompatible diphenols for the synthesis of polyiminocarbonates and polycarbonates, we considered derivatives of tyrosine dipeptide as potential monomers. Our experimental rationale was based on the assumption that a diphenol derived from natural amino acids may be less toxic than many of the industrial diphenols. After protection of the amino and carboxylic acid groups, we expected the dipeptide to be chemically equivalent to conventional diphenols. In preliminary studies (14) this hypothesis was confirmed by the successful preparation of poly(Z-Tyr-Tyr-Et iminocarbonate) from the protected tyrosine dipeptide Z-Tyr-Tyr-Et (Figure 3). Unfortunately, poly (Z-Tyr-Tyr-Et iminocarbonate) was an insoluble, nonprocessible material for which no practical applications could be identified. This result illustrated the difficulty of balancing the requirement for biocompatibility with the need to obtain a material with suitable "engineering" properties. 

Considerable research effort has been devoted in recent years to the use of chloral derivatives for the synthesis of linear heterocyclic polymers. Of these, the most common are aromatic polyimides [1-12], Many of these polymers have been synthesised from compounds like 4,4 -diaminobenzophenone, and other diamines, which, as demonstrated in the previous chapter, can be obtained from chloral. Polyimides prepared from these diamines were largely synthesised by the conventional two-step procedure [11, 12] involving mild reaction of the diamines with the bis(phthalic)anhydrides, isolation of poly(o-carboxy)amide (PCA) prepolymers, and then processing into products followed by thermal or chemical imidisation [13—16] (Scheme 3.1). Some properties of polyimides prepared from 4,4 -diaminobenzophenone are provided in Table 3.1. 

Kennedy and Thomas (1) first reported the synthesis of a crystalline poly(3-methyl- 1-butene) by cationic polymerization at —130°C. Preliminary HNMR studies indicated that the polymer was not simply a tactic modification of the conventional 1,2-polymer but, in fact, possessed a repeat structure which resulted... 

Both electrochemical and chemical oxidative routes are most often utilized for the synthesis of PANI. In an interesting departure from the oxidative route, poly(phenylene amine imine) was prepared via a conventional condensation polymerization, as illustrated in Scheme 63 [302, 303]. Comparison of this structurally well-characterized polymer with oxidatively prepared PANI allowed confirmation of the PANI structure. However, the structure of PANI produced by electrochemical means is less understood. 

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