On thermal behaviour of DMC catalysts for ring opening polymerization of epoxides

Abstract The thermoanalytical studies of two types of the double metal cyanide catalysts were carried out. The identity of the catalysts was characterized by an elemental analysis and FTIR. The thermoanalytical examinations performed with the use of TG-DSC, EGA-FTIR, EGA-MS shed new light on views of the bonding of the ligands in the DMC. The chemical justification of the processes responsible for the TG/DSC steps was proposed. Several organic ligand complexing states were found in both types of catalysts. The ligand-DMC bondings were decomposing stepwise in relatively low temperature ranges, which could suggest their negligible role at catalytic reaction being performed usually at higher t…

The complementary structural studies of the double metal cyanide type catalysts for the ring opening polymerization of the oxiranes

Characterization of a Double Metal Cyanide (DMC)-Type Catalyst in the Polyoxypropylation Process: Effects of Catalyst Concentration

The alkaline catalysts commonly applied to alkoxylation are characterized by a limited spectrum of activity caused by an irreversible termination of the polyether chains. The presented results show that double metal cyanide (DMC) catalysts reduce or eliminate the aforementioned adverse rearrangement of hydroxyl groups. Moreover, DMC catalysts indicate high activity at low concentrations (ppm range), as expressed by high polymerization rates. It was demonstrated that decreased concentrations of DMC catalyst irreversibly influence its reactivity and the dispersity of the obtained products, as exemplified by the production and determination of selected polyoxypropylenediols at different concen…