Dihydrophilic block copolymers with ionic and nonionic blocks. I. Poly(ethylene oxide)-b-polyglycidol with OP(O)(OH)2, COOH, or SO3H functions: Synthesis and influence for CaCO3 crystallization

Dihydrophilic block copolymers of poly(ethylene oxide)-b-polyglycidol were prepared and polyglycidol blocks converted into ionic blocks containing OP(O)(OH)2, COOH, or SO3H groups. Although phosphorylation of polyhydroxy compounds with POCl3 usually leads to insoluble products, phosphorylation of poly(ethylene oxide)-b-polyglycidol using a POCl3/OH ratio equal to 1/1 gave soluble products, predominantly monoester of phosphoric acid (after hydrolysis) (provided that the reaction was conducted in triethyl phosphate as solvent). All copolymers were characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and/or 31P NMR spectra for confirming their structure. The degree of substitution was determined from quantitative 13C NMR spectroscopy (inverted-gate decoupling-acquisition mode). Preliminary results indicate that from these three groups of block copolymers the phosphoric acid esters are the most effective ones at least in controlling the growth of CaCO3 crystals in aqueous solution.