Pre-determination of the epoxidation degree of polydienes using methyltrioxorhenium-CH2Cl2/H2O2 biphasic catalytic system

Methyltrioxorhenium (MTO) combined with hydrogen peroxide is a very useful catalyst for the epoxidation of olefins. In this work, we describe the efficient application of this system to perform epoxidation of several polydienes, such as polybutadiene (PB), polyisoprene (PI), randomic styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) and low-molecular liquid hydroxylated polybutadiene (LHPB) showing that, depending on the amount of hydrogen peroxide added, it is possible to control the degree of epoxidation. This system shows to be sensitive to electronic and steric factors. The epoxidized polydienes were recovered in very good yields and characterized by 1H and 13C NMR and IR.