Novel one-pot polymer syntheses based on dithiols obtained from a five-membered cyclic dithiocarbonate and diamines

Novel one-pot syntheses of sulfur-containing polymers from a five-membered cyclic dithiocarbonate (5-phenoxymethyl-1,3-oxathiolane-2-thione (1)) and diamines were examined. Polydisulfides with M̄n 5400 ∼ 15800 were obtained in the oxidation polymerization of dithiols 2, which were obtained in situ by the reactions of 1 and diamines. When 1,12-dodecanediamine was employed, a polydisulfide with relatively high M̄n was obtained, while in the case of m-xylylenediamine, the polymerization was accompanied by intermolecular cyclization to give a polydisulfide with low M̄n. Polythiourethanes with M̄n 6500 ∼ 17200 were obtained in the polyaddition of 2 with 4,4′-methylenebis(phenyl isocyanate). The yields and M̄n values increase with increasing methylene chain length of 2. Polythioethers with M̄n 2600 ∼ 19900 were obtained by the polycondensations of 2 with α,α′-dibromo-p-xylene. The glass transition temperature (Tg) of the polymer decreases with increasing methylene chain length in the main chain.