Synthesis of polyester by novel addition reaction of active di‐ester with di‐epoxy compound

Some polyesters having pendant ether groups were synthesized with high yield by polyaddition of active di‐esters such as di(S‐phenyl)thioisophthalate (PTIP) and di(S‐phenyl)thiosebacate with di‐epoxy compounds such as diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (BPGE) and diglycidyl ether of ethylene glycol using some quaternary ammonium salts as a catalyst. The degree of polymerization in the reaction of PTIP with BPGE was strongly affected by the kind of reaction solvent, monomer concentration, the reaction temperature, and the kind of catalyst. As a result, it is found that tetrabutylammonium chloride has the highest catalytic activity for the polyaddition of PTIP with BPGE, and dimethylsulfoxide is a suitable solvent for the reaction system.