Metal-Free Ring-Opening Polymerization of Propylene Oxide: Synthesis and Characterization of Polyether in the Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Laboratory
{"title":"Metal-Free Ring-Opening Polymerization of Propylene Oxide: Synthesis and Characterization of Polyether in the Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Laboratory","authors":"Chengjian Zhang","doi":"10.1021/acs.jchemed.4c00461","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of propylene oxide (PO) is an essential reaction for polymer synthesis. The product of poly(propylene oxide) (PPO) is widely used for the manufacture of foams and elastomers. The recent innovation of organocatalytic polymerization methods has greatly improved the efficiency and controllability of this polymerization. This article describes the laboratory experiment where students synthesize PPO by the ROP of PO using triethylboron combined with a phosphazene base as a binary organocatalyst system. Students also use NMR spectroscopy and gel-permeation chromatography for the characterization of monomer conversion, polymer structure, and polymer molecular weight. The laboratory experiment is sought to be incorporated into the second-year undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory curriculum. The experiment is performed at room temperature, is solvent-free, and is completed within 3 h, which is easy for second-year undergraduate students to operate. The experiment also introduces students to several fundamental concepts of organic chemistry and polymer chemistry.","PeriodicalId":43,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Chemical Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5000,"publicationDate":"2024-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Chemical Education","FirstCategoryId":"92","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.4c00461","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of propylene oxide (PO) is an essential reaction for polymer synthesis. The product of poly(propylene oxide) (PPO) is widely used for the manufacture of foams and elastomers. The recent innovation of organocatalytic polymerization methods has greatly improved the efficiency and controllability of this polymerization. This article describes the laboratory experiment where students synthesize PPO by the ROP of PO using triethylboron combined with a phosphazene base as a binary organocatalyst system. Students also use NMR spectroscopy and gel-permeation chromatography for the characterization of monomer conversion, polymer structure, and polymer molecular weight. The laboratory experiment is sought to be incorporated into the second-year undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory curriculum. The experiment is performed at room temperature, is solvent-free, and is completed within 3 h, which is easy for second-year undergraduate students to operate. The experiment also introduces students to several fundamental concepts of organic chemistry and polymer chemistry.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Chemical Education is the official journal of the Division of Chemical Education of the American Chemical Society, co-published with the American Chemical Society Publications Division. Launched in 1924, the Journal of Chemical Education is the world’s premier chemical education journal. The Journal publishes peer-reviewed articles and related information as a resource to those in the field of chemical education and to those institutions that serve them. JCE typically addresses chemical content, activities, laboratory experiments, instructional methods, and pedagogies. The Journal serves as a means of communication among people across the world who are interested in the teaching and learning of chemistry. This includes instructors of chemistry from middle school through graduate school, professional staff who support these teaching activities, as well as some scientists in commerce, industry, and government.