Furfuryl alcohol polymerisation by iodine in methylene chloride

Furfuryl alcohol (FA) was polymerised by iodine in methylene chloride to give a coloured, amorphous and branched polymer. Structure of FA polymers obtained with iodine have no significant differences according to the IR and NMR spectra respect to those obtained by using Brönsted or Lewis acids as initiators. Changes on the experimental conditions, such as the presence of air, iodine concentration or reaction temperature, did not lead to an increase in the linear structure of the polymer. On the contrary, an increase in the iodine concentration or in the temperature produces a highly crosslinked polymer. DSC of the polymer indicates that remaining groups are able to undergo further exothermic reactions and crosslinking. A mechanism of polymerisation was proposed to explain all the above features.