Premium
Copolymerizations of tetrafluoroethylene and perfluoropropylvinyl ether in supercritical carbon dioxide: Polymer synthesis, characterization, and thermal properties
Author(s) -
Xu Anhou,
Yuan Wang Zhang,
Zhao Junhong,
Li Hong,
Zhang Heng,
Zhang Yongming
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.35187
Subject(s) - tetrafluoroethylene , copolymer , supercritical carbon dioxide , reactivity (psychology) , polymer chemistry , ether , materials science , supercritical fluid , thermal decomposition , thermal stability , polymer , chemical engineering , chemistry , organic chemistry , composite material , medicine , engineering , alternative medicine , pathology
Tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) and perfluoropropylvinyl ether (PPVE) were copolymerized in supercritical carbon dioxide ( sc ‐CO 2 ) with a perfluorodiacyl initiator bis(perfluoro‐2‐ n ‐propoxypropionyl) peroxide (BPPP). The resultant copolymers with stable perfluoroalkyl end groups were obtained, avoiding the decomposition during processing and applications. Reactivity ratios of TFE and PPVE were first reported. The r TFE and r PPVE values are about 8 and 0.08, respectively. Such parameters are significant for the modification of PTFE through copolymerization of TFE and PPVE. It is found that through increasing the reaction pressure from 8.5 to 25 MPa, while r TFE increases by 12.0%, r PPVE decreases by 9.0%, which should be ascribed to the enhancement of the polarity of CO 2 under high pressures. Because the reactivity of TFE is by two orders of magnitude higher than that of PPVE; on one hand, the copolymerization rate falls rapidly with the decrease of TFE feed ratio; on the other hand, TFE content in the copolymer decreases with the reaction time. All copolymers containing different fractions of PPVE enjoy outstanding thermal stability. The DSC result indicates that there exist two forms of crystals with highly regular molecular arrangement or less ordered chain packing which is disturbed by perfluoropropyl pendants. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012