Study on Polyaddition of Aminonitriles

Abstract

p-Aminobenzyl cyanide hydrochloride afforded a polyamidine hydrochloride of structure (I) by heating it at 200-230°C. Viscosity (ηsp/C) of the polymer increased with increase of
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conversion and was up to 0.2 measured at a concentration of 2.0 g/100 ml of formic acid at 30°C. The polymer (I) was soluble in water and formic acid, but polymer obtained by dehydrochlorination of (I) with aqueous ammonia was insoluble in water. An attempt to polymerize p-aminobenzyl cyanide with Friedel-Crafts catalyst such as aluminum trichloride was unsuccessful to obtain a linear, well-defined polyamidine.
Aminoacetonitrile hydrochloride did not produce a polymer under the condition tried.