Synthesis and characterization of polymers from cashewnut shell liquid (CNSL), a renewable resource III. Synthesis of a polyether

A novel polyether was synthesized by cationic polymerization of glycidyl 3-pentadecenyl phenyl ether (GPPE) in the presence of a latent thermal initiator, N-(benzyl) N, N-dimethyl anilinium hexafluoroantimonate (BDAHA). The monomer, GPPE, was synthesized from cardanol, a naturally occurring meta-substituted long chain monoene phenol. Cardanol has been recently characterized by CHN analysis, IR, 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectroscopic techniques by the authors. The polyether was examined with 1H NMR, FTIR, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetry (TGA). Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) indicated the weight average molecular weight ( M̄ w) to be 3790 g/mol and polydispersity index was found to be 1.148.