SCHOTTEN‐BAUMANN esterification of poly(vinyl alcohol). III. Preparation of some photosensitive polymers and the effects of surface active agents on the interfacial esterification

Abstract

AbstractSome of the photosensitive polymers, poly(vinyl p‐azidobenzoate), poly(vinyl p‐nitrobenzoate), poly(vinyl 2‐methyl‐5‐phenyl‐2,4‐pentadienoate), and poly(vinyl cinnamate co vinyl cyanoethyl ester), are prepared by SCHOTTEN‐BAUMANN esterification of poly(vinyl alcohol). The preparations of the acid halides and polymers are reported in details. The study of the effects of surface active agents on the esterification process shows the following results. When nonionic and anionic agents were added into the reaction system, the yield of the product increases with decreasing concentration of surface active agents and becomes a linear function of the concentration ending at the point at which no surface active agent is present. The linearity is observed in a wide range of concentration of the anionic agent, but not in the case of the nonionic one. The cationic agent drastically inhibits the reaction even at very low concentrations. These phenomena are explained on the basis of the reaction mechanism proposed in a previous paper.Applying the esterification process to a polyelectrolyte the reaction occurs only in the presence of salts as KBr, NaNO3 etc. This phenomenon is also explained by the reaction mechanism.