Process for converting a polymeric ester to a polymeric acid

1. A process for converting an ester group of a polymer to an acid group comprising:

forming a reaction mixture being an aqueous suspension and having a substantially oxygen-free atmosphere, the reaction mixture comprising an aqueous strong base solution and a polymer having a pendant ester of an acid group which hydrolyzes to produce a polymer comprising the pendant acid group or a salt thereof and an alcohol.

2. The process of claim 1 wherein the reaction mixture is allowed to react for up to 14 hours.

3. The process of claim 2 , wherein the reaction mixture comprises at least 10 kg of a polymer having a pendant ester of an acid group.

4. The process of claim 3 wherein the reaction mixture is allowed to react for up to about 6 hours.

5. The process of claim 4 wherein the reaction mixture has a substantially oxygen-free atmosphere and wherein the oxygen-free atmosphere comprises an inert gas and the inert gas is helium, neon, nitrogen, argon, krypton, xenon, or a combination thereof.

6. The process of claim 5 wherein the temperature of the reaction mixture is about 80° C. to about 85° C.

7. The process of claim 1 wherein the polymer having a pendant ester of an acid group is a hydrophobic polymer.

8. The process of claim 7 wherein the polymer having a pendant ester of an acid group is in a bead form.

9. The process of claim 7 wherein the hydrophobic polymer having a pendant ester of an acid group comprises structural units corresponding to Formulae 1 and 2, Formulae 1 and 3, or Formulae 1, 2, and 3, wherein

Formula 1, Formula 2, and Formula 3 are represented by the following structures:

wherein

R 1 and R 2 are each independently hydrogen, alkyl, cycloalkyl, or aryl;

A 31 is an ester of a carboxylic, phosphonic, or phosphoric group;

X 1 is arylene; and

X 2 is alkylene, an ether moiety, or an amide moiety.

10. The process of claim 9 wherein the hydrophobic polymer having a pendant ester of an acid group comprises structural units corresponding to Formulae 1A, 2A, and 3A represented by the following structures:

11. The process of claim 7 wherein the hydrophobic polymer having a pendant ester of an acid group comprises a reaction product of a polymerization mixture comprising monomers of either (i) Formulae 11 and 22, (ii) Formulae 11 and 33, or (iii) Formulae 11, 22, and 33, wherein

Formula 11, Formula 22, and Formula 33 are represented by the following structures:

and wherein

R 1 and R 2 are each independently hydrogen, alkyl, cycloalkyl, or aryl;

A 31 is an ester of a carboxylic, phosphonic, or phosphoric acid group;

X 1 is arylene; and

X 2 is alkylene, an ether moiety, or an amide moiety.

12. The process of claim 11 wherein the hydrophobic polymer having a pendant ester of an acid group comprises a reaction product of a polymerization mixture comprising monomers of Formulae 11, 22, and 33 and Formulae 11, 22, and 33 are represented by the following structures:

13. The process of claim 11 wherein the alkyl group of the ester is a methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, isopropyl, n-butyl, isobutyl, tert-butyl, sec-butyl, n-pentyl, 2-pentyl, 3-pentyl, 2-methyl-1-butyl, 3-methyl-1-butyl, 3-methyl-2-butyl, 2,2-dimethyl-1-propyl, 1,1-dimethyl-1-propyl, n-hexyl, 2-hexyl, 3-hexyl, 2-methyl-1-pentyl, 2-methyl-2-pentyl, 2-methyl-3-pentyl, 3-methyl-1-pentyl, 3-methyl-2-pentyl, 3-methyl-3-pentyl, 4-methyl-1-pentyl, 4-methyl-2-pentyl, 2,2-dimethyl-1-butyl, 2,3-dimethyl-1-butyl, 3,3-dimethyl-1-butyl, 3,3-dimethyl-2-butyl, 2,3-dimethyl-2-butyl, or 2-ethyl-1-butyl ester.

14. The process of claim 11 wherein the molar ratio of the strong base to the monomer of formula 11 is from about 0.8 to about 1.5.

15. The process of claim 7 wherein the hydrophobic polymer having a pendant ester of an acid group comprises a methyl ester of poly-α-fluoroacrylic acid, the methyl ester of poly-α-fluoroacrylic acid is crosslinked with a crosslinking monomer, and the crosslinking monomer is divinyl benzene, 1,7-octadiene, or a combination thereof.

16. The process of claim 1 wherein the polymer having a pendant ester of an acid group is crosslinked.

17. The process of claim 1 wherein the polymer content of an aqueous suspension of the polymer having a pendant ester of an acid group added to the reaction mixture is about 15 wt. % to about 30 wt. %.

18. The process of claim 1 wherein the alcohol is methanol, ethanol, propanol, or a combination thereof.

19. The process of claim 1 wherein the reaction mixture comprises from about 5 wt. % to about 15 wt. % alcohol.