Effect of the catalyst-monomer ratio on the molar mass and glass transition temperature of poly(oxy-2,6-dimethoxy-1,4-phenylene)

2,6-Dimethoxyphenol was polymerized using Ag₂O-triethylamine complex as catalyst and a study made of the effect of the catalyst-monomer ratio on the yield, molar mass and polydispersity of poly(oxy-2,6-dimethoxy-1,4-phenylene). The glass transition temperatures T_g were measured with a computerized differential scanning calorimeter. The effect of the molar mass on T_g of poly(oxy-2,6-dimethoxy-1,4-phenylene) is discussed. The equation, T_g = T_{g, ∞} ? K/M, describes well the dependence of T_g on the viscosity-average molar mass M_v from 1900 to 176000 g/mol. Some poly(oxy-2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene) samples were studied as reference material.