Structural and photooxidation studies of poly(styrene oxide) prepared with Maghnite‐H⁺ as cationic catalyst

Abstract

The nature of irregularities and end‐groups in poly(styrene oxide) samples prepared using Maghnite‐H+ as a cationic catalyst were studied by 1H‐ and 13C‐NMR at 200 MHz. Head‐to‐head (H‐H) and tail‐to‐tail (T‐T) irregularities are detected in all the samples studied. Secondary hydroxyl terminal groups are identified in polymers prepared with Maghnite‐H+. Poly(styrene oxide) was found to undergo chain scission by aging at 25°C. It was confirmed that oxidation of this type of polymers results from the important sensitivity of the polyether soft segment to oxidative degradation. For this reason, the scissions due to the oxidation of the material lead to notable quantities of low molecular weight photoproducts. Among the various structures produced by the oxidative degradation process, benzoate and secondary hydroxyl groups are identified by MALDI‐TOF‐MS. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008

Ring opening polymerization of styrene oxide initiated with potassium alkoxides and hydroxyalkoxides activated by 18-crown-6: determination of mechanism and preparation of new polyether-polyols

“…Styrene oxide was polymerized recently with the use of different tin catalysts [10], rare earth coordination catalysts [11] or with acid-exchanged montmorillonite clay [12]. Poly(styrene oxide) can be used as drug carriers [13].…”