Development of a method for the thiocarbamoylation of polyepichlorohydrin with a high degree of functionalization

The conditions for the homogeneous functionalization of polyepichlorohydrin (PECH) with thiourea by the “synthesis in gel” method were experimentally selected. The best solvent for this process is 1,4-dioxane. The reaction mixture visually represents a physical gel in the range of polymer concentrations from 6 to 20%. The composition of the products was characterized by the data of elemental analysis, and specific features of their structure were established using FT-IR spectroscopy and thermogravimetry with the simultaneous IR spectrometric identification of the decomposition products. Thiourea was shown to react with PECH as an ambident nucleophile with the formation of both groups of N-substituted thiourea and fragments of isothiuronium salt. The total degree of functionalization was 90%. The crosslinking of the macromolecules proceeds simultaneously due to which the obtained products with different degrees of functionalization are insoluble in organic solvents. The thiocarbamoylated PECH derivative demonstrates antiselectivity to Cu ions in the sorption of the metal ions of the Irving—Williams series.