Studies on Microwave-assisted Ring-opening Polymerization and Property of Poly(9-phenyl-2,4,8,10-tetraoxaspiro-[5,5]undcane-3-one)

Poly(9-phenyl-2,4,8,10-tetraoxaspiro-[5,5]undcane-3-one) ( PPTC) was synthesized by the microwave-assisted ring-opening polymerization ( MROP) of a six-membered cyclic carbonate monomer 9-phenyl-2,4,8,10-tetraoxaspiro[5,5]undcane-3-one ( PTC) with tin( II) 2-ethylhexanoate (Sn(Oct)(2)) or aluminum isopropoxide (Al((OPr)-Pr-i)(3)) as the catalysts. The obtained polycarbonates were further reduced by apalladium/carbonate catalyst (10% Pd/C) to afford partly deprotected polycarbonates containing hydroxyl groups ( HPPTC). These two types of polycarbonates were characterized by H-1-NMR, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy ( FTIR), UV, gel permeation chromatography ( GPC), differential scanning calorimetry ( DSC), and automatic contact-angle measurements. The influence of the feed molar ratio of monomer-to-catalyst, the microwave irradiation power and the reaction time on the polymerization was also studied. The experimental results showed that HPPTC possessed significantly higher hydrophilicity and water absorption rate than PPTC.