Polymeric Schiff Bases. III. Some Prototype Exchange Reactions of Schiff Bases

The amine moiety in Schiff bases can be exchanged quantitatively by another amine to yield new Schiff bases if the volatility of the replacing amine is lower than the derived amine, thereby allowing the latter to distilled from the reaction mass. This amine exchange was shown to be quantitative also for diamines and di-Schiff bases. Similarly, quantitative conversions were found for aldehydes and acetal exchanges with Schiff bases for both monofunctional and difunctional reactants. The bis exchange, involving two complementary Schiff bases, was quantitative also when the reactants were so selected that one of the new derived Schiff bases could be removed by distillation. The bis exchange was demonstrated with mono and di-Schiff bases. Mechanisms are suggested for these Schiff base exchange reactions: attempts to isolate the proposed intermediates physically were unsuccessful; however spectroscopic evidence indicates the formation of intermediate compounds. The Schiff base exchanges involving polyfunctional reactants are of interest in the synthesis of polymers.