Synthesis of Cyclic Polyesters of Poly(Oxybutylene Oxymaleoyl)

Abstract

In the present work cyclic oligomers of poly(oxybutylene oxymaleoyl) were prepared successfully and cleanly from the polycondensation of the tetrahydrofuran with maleic anhydride using the Maghnite-H+ (Mag-H) as catalyst. Maghnite is a montmorillonite sheet silicate clay exchanged with protons to produce Maghnite-H+ (M. Belbachir, U.S. Patent 066969.0101–2001). The effects of reaction temperature, amount of Maghnite-H+ and reaction time on the yield and the molecular weight are investigated. The results indicate that the polymerization yield increases with increasing the proportion of catalyst.