Cationic photopolymerization of 3-benzyloxymethyl-3-ethyl-oxetane.

The cationic photopolymerization of 3-benzyloxymethyl-3-ethyl-oxetane ( MOX104) initiated by triphenylsulfonium hexafluoroantimonate under UV light was conducted. The kinetics were investigated by real-time Fourier transform IR spectroscopy and the mechanical and thermal properties of poly( MOX104) were examined by dynamic mechanical analysis and TGA. To adjust the properties of the polymer, different initiator concentrations and comonomer composition were applied. The results showed that the conversion of MOX104 was improved significantly from 17% to almost 90% by adding a certain amount of 3,4-epoxycyclohexane carboxylate or diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A epoxy resin, while not much effect was observed by adding 1,4-butanediol diglycidyl ether. Moreover, the glass transition temperature, decomposition temperature and Young's modulus of poly( MOX104) were improved by adding different amounts of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A epoxy resin. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]