Synthesis and Reaction of Anthracene-Containing Polypropylene: A Promising Strategy for Facile, Efficient Functionalization of Isotactic Polypropylene

Abstract

A novel anthracene-containing isotactic polypropylene (An-iPP) with high molecular weight (>10 × 104) and satisfying incorporation (5.7 mol %) was synthesized via direct copolymerization of propylene and 9-hexenylanthracene. The pendent anthryl group of the resulting An-iPP is quite active, and this provides a facile and efficient avenue to synthesize various functional iPPs. As a typical and important example, maleic anhydride (MA) functionalized polypropylene, was successfully prepared in a highly efficient, catalyst-free, byproduct-free, and controllable way via mild Diels–Alder (D–A) reaction between pendent anthryl groups and MA. More importantly, the D–A functionalization process did not sacrifice the original properties of the An-iPP, as no unfavorable degradation and cross-linking were detected in DSC and GPC analyses. Besides MA, several other dienophiles could also be conveniently used as functional reagents to prepare various functionalized iPPs with distinct properties. The unique fluorescent property of An-iPP was studied and could be used for functionalization process monitoring.