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Cationic Polymerization of β ‐Pinene Using B(C 6 F 5 ) 3 as a Lewis Acid for the Synthesis of Tackifiers in Pressure Sensitive Adhesives
Author(s) -
Destephen Aurélie,
González de San Román Estíbaliz,
MartínezTong Daniel Enrique,
Ballard Nicholas
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
macromolecular materials and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.913
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1439-2054
pISSN - 1438-7492
DOI - 10.1002/mame.202100194
Subject(s) - cationic polymerization , polymerization , polymer chemistry , monomer , borane , lewis acids and bases , polymer , living cationic polymerization , polystyrene , materials science , copolymer , solution polymerization , chemistry , ring opening polymerization , catalysis , organic chemistry
β ‐pinene is a well‐known bio‐based monomer that can be polymerized via cationic polymerization to give low molecular weight resins that find use commercially as tackifiers. However, the controlled synthesis of these polymers by cationic polymerization is challenging due to the reactivity of commonly used Lewis acid catalysts and the propagating carbocationic species with water. Here, the cationic polymerization of β ‐pinene under mild conditions using the water stable Lewis acid tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane is demonstrated. It is shown that when combined with a suitable alcohol initiator the molecular weight of the polymer can be tuned while the kinetics are largely controlled by the concentration of tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane. The final poly( β ‐pinene) is shown to perform well as a tackifier in the formation of pressure sensitive adhesives based on polystyrene‐ b ‐polyisoprene‐ b ‐polystyrene triblock copolymers.