0000000000421977
AUTHOR
B. Keggenhoff
Solid-state polymerization of oxetanes. I. Lattice parameters and packing properties of the monomers
The crystallographic unit cells of melt-crystallized 3,3-bischloromethyloxetane and 3,3-bisbromomethyloxetane were determined by the Weissenberg method. The two isomorphous lattices are triclinic with two molecules in the unit cell. 3,3-Bisfluoromethyloxetane forms plastic crystals in the temperature range between −36°C and +22°C, as shown by differential calorimetry and NMR broad-line spectroscopy. The Debye-Scherrer diagram and the general physical properties indicate the formation of a face-centered cubic lattice. No correlation between the lattice parameters of the monomer and polymer can be found On the basis of these results, the question is raised as to whether a topochemical polymer…
Solid-state polymerization of oxetanes. II. Investigation of the growth of the polymer phase as related to the mechanism of polymerization
The radiation-induced solid-state polymerization of 3,3-bischloromethyloxetane (BCMO) was investigated by direct observation of the development of the morphology of the growing polymer phase in single crystals of the monomer. Electron microscopy shows that the polymerization gives rise to amorphous polymer in the first step. The polymer forms irregular platelets which aggregate into larger units without reflecting the crystalline order of the monomer. Subsequent to polymerization, the amorphous polymer crystallizes to the β-modification of poly-BCMO. If the partially polymerized crystals are extracted by solvents of the monomer, crystallization of the polymer is enhanced, and morphological …