Preparation and structure of some carbon monoxide—formaldehyde copolymers

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Abstract
Polymers obtained by reaction between formaldehyde and carbon monoxide under anhydrous conditions in presence of Lewis acids are described. Mass balance and elemental analysis show that the CO/CH2O molar ratio in the polymers can reach unity as maximum value. Ammonolysis of the products (A) having a CO/CH2O molar ratio less than 1 gives glycolamide, diglycolamide, and hexamethylenetetramine. Ammonolysis of the products (B) having a CO/CH2O molar ratio about 1 gives glycolamide, diglycolamide, and traces of hexamethylenetetramine. These results show that the chain of polymer A contains the structural units: COCH2O, COCH2OCH2COO, and CH2O, while polymer B contains almost exclusively the structural units COCH2O and COCH2OCH2COO. Infrared spectra of the products are in good agreement with these results and show the presence of ester, ether, and acetal bands in the main chain of the polymers. The polymer structure is described, and a reaction mechanism is proposed.

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