Method for the improved oxidation of secondary amine groups

1. A process for preparing a polymer P 1 comprising n 1 repeat units of a chemical structure (I)

said process, comprising:

oxidizing a polymer P 2 comprising n 2 repeat units of a chemical structure (II)

in a solvent comprising water and ethanol, wherein the ethanol is present in the solvent in deficiency relative to water in terms of mass ratio,

wherein n 1 , n 2 are each independently an integer in a range of 4-3 000 000,

wherein the repeat units of the chemical structure (I) within the polymer P 1 are the same or at least partly different from one another,

wherein the repeat units of the chemical structure (I) within the polymer P 1 are joined to one another in such a way that the bond identified by “#” in a particular repeat unit is joined to the bond identified by “##” in an adjacent repeat unit,

wherein the repeat units of the chemical structure (II) within the polymer P 2 are the same or at least partly different from one another,

wherein the repeat units of the chemical structure (II) within the polymer P 2 are joined to one another in such a way that the bond identified by “#” in a particular repeat unit is joined to the bond identified by “##” in an adjacent repeat unit, and

wherein, in the chemical structures (I) and (II),

the R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 radicals are each independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, branched alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms and unbranched alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms,

X is selected from the group consisting of *—CH 2 —C′H—CH 2 —**, *—C′H—CH 2 —**, and *—C′═CH—**,

wherein

“*” in each case denotes the bond to the carbon atom joined to R 1 and R 2 ,

“**” in each case denotes the bond to the carbon atom joined to R 3 and R 4 ,

“C′” denotes a carbon atom additionally joined to the Y radical,

Y is selected from the bridging radicals (III) and (IV),

wherein (III) has a structure &—(Y 1 ) p1 —[C═X 1 ] p2 —(Y 2 ) p3 —B—(Y 3 ) p6 —[C═X 2 ] p5 —(Y 4 ) p4 ,&&, and

wherein (IV) has a structure &—(Y 5 ) p9 —(C═X 3 ) p8 —(Y 6 ) p7 —&&,

wherein, in the bridging radicals (III) and (IV),

 p, p2, p3 are each 0 or 1, with the proviso that it is not simultaneously the case that p1=p3=1 and p2=0,

 p4, p5, p6 are each 0 or 1, with the proviso that it is not simultaneously the case that p4=p6=1 and p5=0,

 p7, p8, p9 are each 0 or 1, with the proviso that it is not simultaneously the case that p7=p9=1 and p8=0, and that, when p7=1 and p8=0, p9=0,

 X 1 , X 2 , X 3 are independently selected from the group consisting of O, and S,

 Y 1 , Y 2 , Y 3 , Y 4 , Y 5 , Y 6 are independently selected from the group consisting of O, S, NH, and N-alkyl, and

 Y 1 , when p1=1, p2=p3=0, may also be N O•,

 Y 4 , when p4=1, p5=p6=0, may also be N O•,

 Y 5 , when p9=1, p7=p8=0, may also be N O•,

 B is a divalent, optionally substituted (hetero)aromatic radical or a divalent, optionally substituted aliphatic radical, wherein the optionally substituted aliphatic radical may additionally have at least one group selected from the group consisting of ether, thioether, optionally nitroxylated amino ether, carbonyl group, carboxylic ester group, carboxamide group, sulphonic ester group, and phosphoric ester,

 “&&” for Y denotes the bond via which Y is joined to X “&” for Y denotes the bond via which Y is joined to the carbon atom joined to R 5 .

2. The process according to claim 1 , wherein X 1 , X 2 , X 3 , Y 1 , Y 2 , Y 3 , Y 4 , Y 5 , Y 6 are independently selected from the group consisting of O, and S,

wherein B is a divalent, optionally substituted (hetero)aromatic radical or a divalent, optionally substituted aliphatic radical, and

wherein the optionally substituted aliphatic radical may additionally have at least one group selected from the group consisting of ether, thioether, carbonyl group, carboxylic ester group, sulphonic ester group, and phosphoric ester.

3. The process according to claim 2 , wherein R 1 ═R 2 ═R 3 ═R 4 =methyl and R 5 =hydrogen or methyl,

wherein B is a divalent (hetero)aromatic radical or a divalent aliphatic radical optionally substituted by a group selected from the group consisting of —F, —Cl, —Br, and —I,

wherein the optionally substituted aliphatic radical may additionally have at least one group selected from the group consisting of ether, and thioether.

4. The process according to claim 3 , wherein X 1 ═X 2 ═X 3 ═Y 1 ═Y 2 ═Y 3 ═ 4 ═Y 5 ═Y 6 ═O, and wherein B is phenylene or an alkylene radical optionally substituted by at least one group selected from the group consisting of —F, —Cl, —Br, and —I.

5. The process according to claim 1 , wherein X═*—CH 2 —C′H—CH 2 —**.

6. The process according to claim 5 , wherein the chemical structure (I) has the following structure (I)″″, and the general chemical structure (II) has the following structure (II)″″:

wherein R 5 =methyl or hydrogen.

7. The process according to claim 1 , which is conducted at a temperature T 1 ≤40° C.

8. The process according to claim 1 , wherein a mass ratio of water to ethanol in the solvent is in a range of 51:49 to 99:1.

9. The process according to claim 1 wherein a proportion of a sum total of the weights of ethanol and water in the solvent is at least 50% by weight, based on g total weight of the solvent.

10. The process according to claim 8 , wherein a proportion by weight of all C 1 -C 4 alcohols other than ethanol in the solvent is less than 50% by weight, based on the weight of the ethanol encompassed by the solvent.

11. The process according to claim 1 , wherein n 1 , n 2 are each independently an integer in a range of 4-1 000 000.