New synthesis of liquid polysulfide polymers in the presence of hydrazine. I. Synthesis of linear polysulfide polymers from 1,1?-Methylenebis(oxy)]-bis-[2-chloroethane] and sodium tetrasulfide

Abstract

The results of our studies show that liquid linear polysulfide polymers of an average molecular weight 4260–1030 g mol−1 can be obtained by the reaction of sodium tetrasulfide and 1,1′-[methylenebis(oxy)]-bis-[2-chloroethane] in the presence of 2.0–5.0 mol of hydrazine and at least 4.0 mol of sodium hydroxide/mol of hydrazine in a one-step procedure. The disulfide polymers in the form of sodium mercaptide are soluble in the supernatant liquid from which they are separated by acidification of the solution to a pH value of about 4. The average molecular weight and the content of sulfur in the obtained linear polymers were determined and their IR spectra were recorded. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 35: 1363–1367, 1997