Method for making photocurable halofluorinated acrylates

Abstract

Halofluorinated alkylene monomers are made by a method comprising the steps of: (a) subjecting a first polymer which is the reaction product of a fluorinated vinyl monomer and a vinyl comonomer to dehydrohalogenation to form a second polymer; (b) treating the second polymer with an oxidizing agent to form an oxidation product consisting of a .alpha., .omega.-dicarboxylic acid or an ester derivative thereof; and (c) treating said oxidation product with a reducing agent to form a reduction product consisting of a a .alpha., .omega.-diol. Preferably, the first polymer has a structure of --[CH.sub.2 CYZ(CF.sub.2 CFX).sub.n ].sub.m -- wherein X and Y=F, Cl or Br; X and Y may be the same or different; Z=H, F, Cl, Br, alkyl or perfluoroalkyl containing from about 1 to about 10 carbon atoms; n=an integer larger than about 1; and m is an integer between about 2 and about 10.sup.5. The .alpha., .omega.-dicarboxylic acids and .alpha., .omega.-diols produced herein can be directly used as polycondensation monomers. Alternatively, the .alpha., .omega.-dicarboxylic acids and .alpha., .omega.-diols can be further derivitized to tri-, tetra- or other multifunctional alcohols which may be directly used as condensation monomers or they may be converted to acrylates which may be photocured in the presence of a radical photoinitiator into transparent polymers which are useful as optical waveguiding materials.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.