Characteristics of block copolymers of methyl oxirane and oxirane derivatives of 2-ethylhexanol as obtained with KOH and dimetalcyanide type catalyst

Two series of block copolymers of methyloxirane and oxirane, derivatives of 2-ethylhexanol, were obtained with the use of KOH as a conventional homogeneous alkaline catalyst and a coordinative dimetalcyanide catalyst (DMC), respectively. The DMC type catalyst showed much higher kinetic activities and its reaction exhibited a narrower distribution of homologues, as compared with those obtained in the presence of KOH. The thermo-gravimetric technique was proposed for the characterization of the fractional content of products. The pluming phenomenon and VOCs content were discussed as a practical aspect of the differences in fractional compositions of the products examined.