A process for the production of nitrogenous co-polymers of formaldehyde

摘要

Copolymers of trioxane and 0.5 to 50 mol per cent of a cyclic nitrogen compound of formula in which R is hydrogen or an alkyl radical of 1 to 6 carbon atoms and R1 is an alkyl, aryl, aralkyl or alkaryl radical are prepared by copolymerization of the monomers at 50 to 120 DEG C. in the presence of a cationically active catalyst. Specified cyclic nitrogen compounds are N-methane-sulphonyl-ethyleneimine, N-methane-sulphonyl - propylene - 1,2, - imine, N - benzene-sulphonyl - ethyleneimine, N - toluene - sulphonyl - ethyleneimine and N - methane-sulphonyl - butylene - 1,2 - imine. The cationic active catalyst may be a concentrated mineral acid, a sulphonic acid, a Lewis acid, a boron halide etherate or other addition complex on a halogen containing organic metal compounds, oxonium and carboxonium salts and fluoborates or aryl-diazonium compounds. A third comonomer e.g. styrene, acrylonitrile, ethyl vinyl ether, methyl vinyl sulphone, ethylene or propyleneoxide, cyclic acetals and their analogous thio compounds may be added as modifier. The copolymerization may take place as bulk, solution or suspension while the product may be stabilized by degradation or by chemical treatment. In examples trioxane is copolymerized in a saturated hydrocarbon mixture using boron fluoride dibutyl etherate with (1) N - methane-sulphonyl - ethyleneimine and (2) N-benzene-sulphonyl ethylene imine.