Molecular Weight Control of Thermosetting Poly(phenylene ether) Copolymer Produced by Heterogeneous Oxidative Coupling Polymerization

An efficient synthetic method to control the molecular weights of poly(phenylene ether) copolymer (Allyl-PPE) with a narrow molecular weight distribution (MWD) by oxidative coupling polymerization of 2,6-dimethylphenol (DMP) and 2-allyl-6-methylphenol (AMP) has been developed. This polymerization was carried out in the presence of the di-μ-hydroxo-bis[( N , N , N ′ , N′ -tetramethylethylenediamine)copper(II)] chloride (Cu/TMEDA) catalyst in a water droplet/toluene heterogeneous system. The polymerization conditions such as the effects of the Cu/TMEDA concentration and the amount of water were investigated, and it was found that the molecular weight of Allyl-PPE could be easily controlled by changing the concentration of Cu/TMEDA aqueous solution.