Y. Shibasaki, Maiko Takahashi, Manabu Tanaka
2009
Citations
0
Influential Citations
5
Citations
Journal
Polymer Journal
Abstract
Poly(2,6-dimethyl-l,4-phenylene ether) (PPE) was successfully prepared by the biphasic polymerization of 4-bromo-2,6-dimethylphenol (BDMP) with the use of silica gel as a promoter at 20 °C under air. Silica gel was hydrolyzed with alkaline to afford water-soluble siloxane oligomers, which acted as an effective phase transfer agent for the biphasic polymerization of BDMP. The pure PPE was easily separated from the siloxane oligomers by the ordinal reprecipitation process, and the oligomers were reassembled into silica gel by the condensation of silanol groups in an acidic medium. The morphologies of the reassembled silica gel are worm-like and spherical with wormholes in it.