Polyethylene glycol (molecular weight 8000) was degraded by ozone in 1% aqueous solution of pH 12. Chemical oxygen demand of the solution decreased with increasing ozone consumed. Intrinsic viscosity of the solution lowered exponentially as a result of the ozonization. The number of breaks calculated from the viscosity indicated that two molecules of ozone were consumed for one cleavage of the polymer chain. The molecular weight distribution obtained by gel permeation chromatography was very broadened and molecular weight was lower as well, and the polymer chain was found to be cleaved randomly by ozone. The production of formic ester, ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, and hydrogen peroxide was confirmed by IR, NMR, gas chromatography, and chemical analysis. These observations could be accounted for by electrophilic attack of ozone on the ether bond.
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Junzo Suzuki (1976) studied this question.
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