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The effect of limited monomer solubility in heterogeneous step-growth polymerization
1The Dow Chemical Company, Advanced Electronic Materials Laboratory, 1712 Building, Midland, Michigan 48674, USA.
Abstract:
Limited monomer solubility imposes very intriguing features on poly(p-phenylenebenzobisoxazole) polymerization. Only one type of functional group is detected at oligomer chain ends, and a high-molecular-weight polymer is obtained even when an excess of the monomer with low solubility is used. These remarkable phenomena are interpreted as an unprecedented "spoon-feeding-of-monomer" mechanism. A novel apparatus for staged polymerization is described that was triggered by the uniqueness of the heterogeneous step-growth polymerization. Hyperbranched polyesters and a polyurethane/polyethylene blend, which represent two phases in the polymerization process, are also discussed.
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