Structures and thermal and hydrothermal stabilities of sulfonated poly(organosiloxanes) by silicon-29 and carbon-13 CP/MAS NMR.

Abstract

High-resolution /sup 29/Si and /sup 13/C cross polarization/magic-angle spinning (CP/MAS) NMR spectroscopies have been applied to poly((sulfophenyl)siloxane) and poly((sulfopropyl)siloxane) in order to examine their thermal and hydrothermal stability. The effects of the treatments on the catalytic activity for the alcohol dehydration were also studied. Under nonsteaming conditions, both siloxanes have much higher thermal stability than Amberlyst-15. Thermal stability is in a decreasing order, poly((sulfophenyl)siloxane) (573 K) > poly((sulfopropyl)siloxane) (543 K) > Amberlyst-15 (468 K), while the thermal stability under steaming conditions is in the order of poly((sulfopropyl)siloxane) (543 K) > poly((sulfophenyl)siloxane) = Amberlyst-15 (468 K). The thermal degradation of the poly((sulfophenyl)siloxane) mainly occurs by the rupture of the C-Si bonds between the benzene ring and the siloxane chain. The steam greatly affects the thermal stability of poly((sulfophenyl)siloxane). Thus, under steaming conditions, thermal degradation occurred at much lower temperatures than under nonsteaming conditions. The thermal degradation of the poly((sulfopropyl)siloxane) mainly occurs at the C-C bond in the sulfopropyl groups. Steam does not affect the thermal stability of poly((sulfopropyl)siloxane).