Synthesis and copolymerization of azidomethyl-substituted oxetanes: the morphology of statistical block copolymers

3,3-Bis(azidomethyl)oxetane and 3-azidomethyl-3-methyloxetane were obtained by bromination of pentaerythritol and metriol with a mixture of hydrobromic, acetic, and sulfuric acids, followed by cyclization in the presence of a phase-transfer catalyst TBAB, with the formation of oxetane ring and replacement of bromide substituents with azide ions. The copolymerization reaction of 3,3-bis-(azidomethyl)oxetane and 3-azidomethyl-3-methyloxetane was performed in the presence of a catalytic system prepared from triisobutylaluminum and water. The methods of small-angle and wide-angle X-ray diffraction analysis were used to determine the amorphous-crystalline and domain structures of the synthesized copolymers. We also present data about conformational and relaxation transitions in these statistical copolymers.