Copolymerization of chloral with trioxane

✍ Scribed by Arne Holmström; Erling M. Sörvik

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1977
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 310 KB
• Volume: 13
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0014-3057
• DOI: 10.1016/0014-3057(77)90028-3

✦ Synopsis

Copolymers of trichloroacetaldehyde (chloral) and 1,3,5-trloxane have been prepared in solvent-free systems with aluminium bromide as an initiator at 4 and -15 °. CH2C12 inhibited polymerization. From i.r.-spectra and chlorine determinations, the copolymers were found to have degrees of polymerization of about 40 and to contain 4-t7 mole ~ oxymethylene units. X-ray diffraction studies indicated a completely amorphous material and no melting was observed with differential scanning calorimetry. The latter method indicated.a decomposition temperature of 300 °, compared with 180 and 220 ° for polyoxymethylene and polychloral respectively. The copolymers were stable towards chemical treatments deleterious to the corresponding homopolymers viz. 10~ aq. KOH at 25 ° and concentrated H2SO4 at 130 °. The stability towards alkaline solutions shows that the haloform reaction with polychloral proceeds via depolymerization and not via direct attack on the polymer chain.