A New Method of Synthesizing Polyphenylacetylene

✍ Scribed by Cataldo, Franco

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 700 KB
• Volume: 39
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0959-8103
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0126(199602)39:2<91::aid-pi446>3.0.co;2-b

✦ Synopsis

The aldolic polycondensation of phenylacetaldehyde leads to the formation of polyphenylacetylene. Both thermodynamic calculations and the principle of vinylology suggest that phenylacetaldehyde can be polymerized to polyphenylacetylene. It is shown that 1 mol phenylacetaldehyde gives polyphenylacetylene when it is heated with 0.5mol oleum in xylene. Also sulphuric acid in xylene or in dioxan gives a low molecular weight polyphenylacetylene. Other condensing agents such as phosphoric acid, boric acid and aluminium trichloride are not effective. Basic agents such as KOH or sodium methoxide are not effective. By means of UV-VIS, FTIR and 'H NMR spectroscopies, it is clearly shown that the product obtained is a trans-cisoidal polyphenylacetylene. The spectral properties have been elucidated in comparison with reference polyphenylacetylenes obtained from phenylacetylene over Rh(1) catalyst prepared in situ in the reaction mixture, and from MoCl,. The chemical behaviour of all polyphenylacetylenes obtained in this work towards chlorine has been studied.