THE 1ST STAGES OF AN EPOXY HOMOPOLYMERIZATION INITIATED BY PIPERIDINE

Reactions taking place in the phenyl glycidyl ether (PGE)-piperidine system were followed by size exclusion chromatography using ultra-violet detection at 254 nm. The first step was the addition of piperidine to PGE to give a tertiary amino alcohol (TAA). This reaction took place by both catalytic (E = 50.7 kJ mol-1) and non-catalytic mechanisms. No other reaction could be detected before the piperidine concentration was depleted. The reaction of PGE with TAA was followed at 120-degrees-C. The main product was a TAA-PGE addition compound, following a pseudo-first-order kinetic rate equation. After this reaction, the PGE oligomerization takes place at room temperature.