ON THE SYNTHESIS OF ETHYL-2-CYANOACRYLATE FROM WASTE RESIDUE

The aim of the present study is to clarify some problems concerning the synthesis of additional quantities of ethyl-2-cyanoacrylate monomer (ECA) utilizing the waste residue (WR) from the large-scale depolymerization of ECA oligomers. The composition of WR was established by GPC and IR spectroscopy. WR was found to consist mostly of diethyl dicyanoglutarate (DEDCG) and low molecular weight products of its condensation with paraformaldehyde (pFA). The DEDCG-pFA interaction was studied as a model, and the influence of DEDCG conversion on the average degree of polymerization (x(n)BAR and x(w)BAR) of the oligomers formed was also followed. On this basis, it was found that oligomer formation in condensation of WR with pFA is consistent with a stepgrowth mechanism, the polymer chain length being determined by steric hindrance and destructive reactions.