Ionic oligomerization of acrolein in water

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to generate aldehyde-functionalized macromolecules that are soluble in common solvents, to be used as new cross-linkers for polymer materials. To do so, the synthesis of oligo(acrolein)s in water, at room temperature, has been performed by anionic and cationic polymerization processes. Using indium metal as a Lewis acid, optimized polymerization conditions reached molar masses around 2000 g mol⁻¹ and a final aldehyde content of typically 30–40 mol%, as measured by chemical titration and ¹H NMR spectroscopy.