FRIEDEL-CRAFTS POLYMERS .2. INITIAL STAGES OF COPOLYMERIZATION OF P-DI(CHLOROMETHYL) BENZENE WITH BENZENE

The first two products of condensation of ρ{variant}-di(chloromethyl) benzene (I) with benzene (IV) in presence of SnCl4 are benzyl chloromethyl benzene(II)and dibenzyl benzene (III). The mechanism and kinetics of their formation have been studied as a first step towards determining the structure of the final polymer in order ultimately to be able to correlate structure with stability in this class of material. Gas-liquid chromatography and mass, i.r. and NMR spectroscopy have been used to analyse the reaction mixture, identify the components and follow the reaction. Reaction curves for the formation of II and III can be interpreted in terms of two consecutive reactions, {A figure is presented} The rates of these reactions are given by k2 (I) (IV) (SnCl4 and k3 (II) (IV) (SnCl4) respectively in which k2=1 · 10 × 10-4 l2mol-2sec-1 and k3=1· 30 × 10-3 l2mol-1. The energies of activation are 9·8 and 10·1 k.cal/mole, respectively. © 1969.