JPH11269165A - Prevention of change in quality of cyclic formal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the change of a cyclic formula during storage or the like with time and the change in quality of the subject compound without exerting an undesirall influence on the qualities of its (co)polymerizability and its formed (co)polymers, by adding a specific amount of a phenol compound having steric hindrance. SOLUTION: A cyclic formal containing at least one -O-CH2 -O- and at least one -(CH2 )n - ((n) is 2-4) (preferably 1,3-dioxorane, 1,3,-dioxone,1,4-butanediol formula or the like) as a ring-constituting group is mixed with 0.001-0.5 wt.%, based on the cyclic formula, of at least one phenol having steric hindrance with >=350 molecular weight [preferably pentaerythritol-tetrakis[3-(3,5-di-t- butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)propionate],etc.],to prevent the change in quality of the operation compound.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for preventing deterioration of a cyclic formal, particularly a cyclic formal for polymerization or copolymerization.

[0002]

[Problems to be solved by the prior art and the invention] 1,3 −
Cyclic formal represented by dioxolane and the like having a linking carbon atom as a ring-constituting group is a useful substance as a raw material monomer or comonomer for polymerization or copolymerization, and is obtained especially by copolymerization with trioxane or formaldehyde. Polyacetal resins are extremely useful as engineering resins as materials used for various machines and equipment parts. However, cyclic formal is unstable, and is liable to be degraded after its preparation (or after purification), to form peroxide during storage or transportation, or to generate decomposition products such as formaldehyde and formic acid. 2
Next, when oligomers are produced and subjected to polymerization or copolymerization as a raw material (co) monomer of the polyacetal resin, these have a considerable adverse effect on the polymerization reaction or the copolymerization reaction, and the quality of the (co) polymer is reduced. And it is desired to prevent temporal deterioration in storage and transportation.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above, the present invention is intended to prevent cyclic formals from changing over time during storage and the like, and to provide a cyclic copolymer having no adverse effect on the (co) polymerizability or the quality of the produced (co) polymer. As a result of examining the method for preventing the deterioration of formal, after the preparation or purification of cyclic formal, a specific amount of sterically hindered phenol was added and present to prevent the deterioration over time, and even after storage for a long time, etc. The present invention has been found that there is no hindrance to the polymerizability, etc., but rather that the (co) polymerization reactivity and polymer quality are more improved than the cyclic formal immediately after preparation or purification. That is, the present invention provides, as a group constituting a ring, at least one -O-CH ₂ -O- and at least one-(CH ₂ ) _n- (n
A method for preventing the deterioration of a cyclic formal for polymerization, comprising adding 0.001 to 0.5% by weight, based on the cyclic formal, of at least one sterically hindered phenol having a molecular weight of 350 or more to a cyclic formal having 2 to 4); And a method for producing a polyacetal copolymer, which comprises copolymerizing a cyclic formal, which is prevented from alteration by adding the sterically hindered phenol, with trioxane.

[0004]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The cyclic formal to be used in the present invention is intended to be used as a monomer for polymerization or a comonomer for copolymerization, and has at least one --OCH ₂ O-- group in its molecular structure. And a group having at least one carbon-carbon linking bond, that is, a cyclic compound having a ring constituted by a group having — (CH ₂ ) _n — (where n = 2 to 4), wherein carbon atoms constituting the ring are May be substituted with another group such as an alkyl group, an allyl group, a hydroxyl group or an alkoxyl group. Examples include 1,3-dioxolan, 1,3-dioxane, 1,3,5-trioxepane,
1,4-butanediol formal, 1,4-butanediol diformal, diethylene glycol formal,
-Methyl-1,3-dioxolan, 1,3-propanediol formal, dipropylene glycol formal and the like. In such a cyclic compound, a peroxide is particularly easily generated as compared with a cyclic acetal such as trioxane, and the peroxide once generated tends to increase in a chain,
This is a serious problem as a (co) polymerization monomer.

In the present invention, the sterically hindered phenol added preferably has a molecular weight of 350 or more, particularly preferably 550 or more, for the purpose of preventing the deterioration of the cyclic formal. Generally, in order to prevent the deterioration or decomposition of cyclic formal, general phenolic compounds, amines, and organic phosphorus compounds also have an effect of preventing deterioration, and when cyclic formal is used for solvents, the purpose is satisfied. However, when cyclic formal is used as a monomer for polymerization or copolymerization as in the present invention, if these additives are contained, they cannot be used because they inhibit the polymerizability, and for example, amines and phosphorus compounds are not used. It has the effect of stopping or significantly delaying the polymerization reaction and is unsuitable for the purpose of the present invention. Sterically hindered phenols are relatively good stabilizers for preventing deterioration of cyclic formal for polymerization, but phenolic compounds such as 2,6-di-t-butyl-4-methoxyphenol and 2,2'- Methylene bis (4-methyl-6
A low molecular weight phenolic compound such as (-t-butylphenol) inhibits the polymerizability less than the amine compound, but still has a problem in the polymerizability.
It has also been found that cyclic formals containing these compounds are undesirable because they cause coloring and discoloration of the polymer during post-treatment after polymerization. From such a viewpoint, the present inventors prevent cyclic formal, particularly deterioration during storage of cyclic formal as a monomer for polymerization or copolymerization, and the like,
Moreover, as a result of examining a stabilizer that does not inhibit the polymerizability and does not adversely affect the quality of the produced polymer, sterically hindered phenols having a molecular weight of 350 or more as described above, particularly preferably 550 or more, are suitable. The specific sterically hindered phenol is excellent in the effect of preventing deterioration in the storage of cyclic formal and the like, and not only does not inhibit its polymerizability and the quality of the polymer (discoloration, degree of polymerization, etc.), but rather, Alternatively, they have found that it has the effect of suppressing the decomposition of the polymer produced during the copolymerization reaction and obtaining a polymer with a high degree of polymerization in a high yield.

As such a sterically hindered phenol, for example, pentaerythritol-tetrakis [3- (3,5-
Di-t-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl) propionate], triethylene glycol-bis [3- (3-t
-Butyl-5-methyl-4-hydroxyphenyl) propionate], 1,6-hexanediol-bis [3-
(3,5-di-t-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl) propionate], 2,2-thio-diethylenebis [3-
(3,5-di-t-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl) propionate], octadecyl-3- (3,5-di-t-
Butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl) propionate, 2,
2-thiobis (4-methyl-6-t-butylphenol), N, N'-hexamethylenebis (3,5-di-t-butyl-4-hydroxy-hydrocinnamamide), 1,3,5-
Trimethyl-2,4,6-tris (3,5-di-t-butyl-
4-hydroxybenzyl) benzene, tris- (3,5-
Di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxybenzyl) -isocyanurate, 3,9-bis {2- [3- (3-tert-butyl-
4-hydroxy-5-methylphenyl) propionyloxy] -1,1-dimethylethyl} -2,4,8,10-tetraoxaspiro [5,5] undecane. Among them, particularly preferred sterically hindered phenol is pentaerythritol-tetrakis [3- (3,5-di-t-butyl-4).
-Hydroxyphenyl) propionate] (manufactured by Ciba-Geigy, Irganox 1010), triethylene glycol-bis [3- (3-t-butyl-5-methyl-4-hydroxyphenyl) propionate] (manufactured by Ciba-Geigy,
Irganox 245) or 3,9-bis {2- [3-
(3-t-butyl-4-hydroxy-5-methylphenyl) propionyloxy] -1,1-dimethylethyl}-
2,4,8,10-tetraoxaspiro [5,5] undecane (Adecastab AO-80, manufactured by Asahi Denka Kogyo). In the present invention, the lower limit of the amount of the sterically hindered phenol is at least 0.001 with respect to the cyclic formal from the viewpoint of the effect of preventing alteration.
% By weight, preferably 0.05% by weight or more, particularly preferably 0.1% by weight.
It is at least 1% by weight, and the upper limit is less than 0.5% by weight in view of the effect on polymerization reactivity and economic efficiency. The specific sterically hindered phenol of the present invention generally remains in the polymer uniformly without being eluted and volatilized in the post-treatment step of the polymer after polymerization, for example, in the steps of neutralization of the catalyst, washing, melt extrusion and the like. ,
Dispersion also has a secondary effect on the stability of the polymer.

A first object of the present invention is to prevent the cyclic formal for (co) polymerization from deteriorating with time as described above, that is, to prevent the formation of peroxides and the like, and to generate and mix the degeneration and decomposition products. It is natural that the addition of the cyclic formal is preferably performed immediately after the preparation and purification of the cyclic formal, and at least as early as possible. preferable. By doing so, even if a relatively long time has passed at a relatively high temperature, the polymerizability of the monomer is not deteriorated, and it is very suitable as a (co) polymerization monomer, which is extremely convenient in polymerization operation.

[0008]

EXAMPLES Examples will be shown below, but the present invention is not limited to these examples. Examples 1 to 7, Comparative Examples 1 to 5 Cyclic formal immediately after purification shown in Table 1 (Reference Examples 1 to 5)
3) As sterically hindered phenol, (a) pentaerythritol-tetrakis [3- (3,5-di-t-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl) propionate] (molecular weight
1178), (b) triethylene glycol-bis [3- (3
-T-butyl-5-methyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)
Propionate (molecular weight: 587) or (c) 3,9-bis ｛2-
[3- (3-t-butyl-4-hydroxy-5-methylphenyl) propionyloxy] -1,1-dimethylethyl} -2,4,8,10-tetraoxaspiro [5,5] undecane (molecular weight 741) was added and dissolved, and the amount of peroxide, the amount of formaldehyde and the amount of formic acid were measured for the cyclic formal after being left at 40 ° C. for 2 weeks. Table 1 shows the results.
For comparison, the cyclic formals containing no sterically hindered phenols or the phenol compounds not belonging to the present invention include (d) 2,6-di-t-butyl-4-methoxyphenol (molecular weight 236), (e) 2,2'-methylenebis-
(4-methyl-6-t-butyl) phenol (molecular weight 3
The cyclic formal to which 40) was added was left for 2 weeks in the same manner as in the above example, and then the amount of peroxide and the like were measured. The results are shown in Table 1. The amount of peroxide and the like of the above cyclic formal immediately after purification (before standing) containing no phenol-substituted product or sterically hindered phenols are referred to in Reference Example 1.
-3.

Examples 8 to 14, Comparative Examples 6 to 10 A fixed amount of trioxane was placed in a closed autoclave having a jacket through which a heating medium could pass and a stirring blade.
9.30 mol% of the cyclic formal after standing shown in the above Examples and Comparative Examples and the cyclic formal immediately after purification shown in the Reference Example were added to trioxane and stirred. After maintaining the temperature at about 70 ° C, a solution of boron trifluoride butyl etherate in cyclohexane (40 ppm as boron trifluoride per total monomer)
Was added to carry out copolymerization. Then, 5 minutes later, water containing 0.1% by weight of tributylamine was added to the autoclave to stop the reaction, the content was taken out, pulverized to 20 mesh or less, washed with acetone, and dried. The color tone (discoloration) of the obtained copolymer was observed, the polymerization yield was determined, and the melt index (190 ° C.) was measured. Table 2 shows the results.
The melt index (MI) is an index corresponding to the degree of polymerization of the produced copolymer, and the lower the MI, the higher the degree of polymerization. (However, in order to prevent decomposition at the time of measurement, a predetermined amount of a stabilizer is added and mixed in all cases.)

[0010]

[Table 1]

[0011]

[Table 2]

[0012]

As is apparent from the above description and Examples, the method of the present invention is particularly effective for preventing the deterioration of cyclic formal, and makes it possible to hold the cyclic formal for a long time. Such a cyclic formal has no adverse effect on its (co) polymerization reactivity and the quality of the produced (co) polymer even if it is stored for a long period of time, but rather allows the polymerization reaction to proceed smoothly to obtain a copolymer of excellent quality. Can be

Claims (8)

[Claims] (1) As a group constituting a ring, at least one —O—CH ₂ —O— and at least one — (CH ₂ ) _n — (n is 2 to
4. A method for preventing deterioration of a cyclic formal for polymerization, which comprises adding 0.001 to 0.5% by weight of at least one sterically hindered phenol having a molecular weight of 350 or more to the cyclic formal having 4). 2. The cyclic formal is at least one selected from 1,3-dioxolan, 1,3-dioxane, 1,4-butanediol formal, diethylene glycol formal, and 1,3,5-trioxepane. The method for preventing deterioration of cyclic formal according to the above. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the cyclic formal is 1,3-dioxolane. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the sterically hindered phenol has a molecular weight of 550 or more. 5. The sterically hindered phenol is pentaerythritol-tetrakis [3- (3,5-di-t-butyl-
4-hydroxyphenyl) propionate], triethylene glycol-bis [3- (3-t-butyl-5-methyl-4-hydroxyphenyl) propionate] or
3,9-bis {2- [3- (3-t-butyl-4-hydroxy-5-methylphenyl) propionyloxy] -1,
The method for preventing deterioration of cyclic formal according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the method is 1-dimethylethyl-2,4,8,10-tetraoxaspiro [5,5] undecane. 6. The method for preventing deterioration of cyclic formals according to claim 1, wherein the sterically hindered phenol is added in an amount of 0.05 to 0.5% by weight based on the cyclic formals. 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the sterically hindered phenol is added in an amount of 0.1 to 0.5% by weight based on the cyclic formal. 8. A method for producing a polyacetal copolymer, comprising copolymerizing cyclic formal, which has been prevented from alteration by the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, with trioxane.