Dioxomolybdenum(VI) and dioxotungsten(VI) complexes: efficient catalytic activity for crosslinking reaction in ethylene‐vinyl acetate copolymer/alkoxysilane composites

Abstract

The catalytic performances of several bis(acetylacetonato)metal complexes [Cu(acac)2, Zn(acac)2, TiO(acac)2, VO(acac)2, MoO2(acac)2, and WO2(acac)2] were investigated for the crosslinking reaction via transesterifications in the ethylene‐vinyl acetate copolymer/tetraethoxysilane (EVA/TEOS) composite system by means of dynamic attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared, solvent swelling, and solid‐state 29Si cross polarization/magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance techniques. Results of the kinetic examination revealed that MoO2(acac)2 and WO2(acac)2 exhibited a higher catalytic activity than di‐n‐butyltin(IV) oxide, which is a catalyst most commonly used for the transesterification process in polymer system, but has a toxic effect on the environmental health. And furthermore, the crosslink density and final siloxane network structure of crosslinked EVA/TEOS composites are found to be greatly correlated with the catalyst used. On the basis of the SN2‐Si pathway, a plausible catalytic mechanism of MoO2(acac)2 and WO2(acac)2 was proposed for the crosslinking reaction via transesterifications of the vinyl acetate moieties in EVA backbone with the ethoxysilane groups in one TEOS molecule. The findings in this study may fill the blank in the high performance and environmentally friendly catalyst in the field of the crosslinking reactions in polymer system and provide useful clue for other transesterifications. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.