Nippon Shokubai Develops New Production Method for N-Vinylcarbazole.

Nippon Shokubai Co., Ltd., under its president Tadao Kondo, today announced the development of a new proprietary production method for N-vinylcarbazole as well as a schedule for the provision of samples of N-vinylcarbazole compounds beginning in the autumn of 2005.

With this new method, the Company produces N-vinylcarbazole from carbazole and ethylene carbonate by employing a unique approach to the production of dehydrated vinyl. This method is safer than the conventional method because it eliminates the use of acetylene, a substance that is difficult to handle.
While the company will start with bench-scale production and will offer several dozen kilograms of samples of N-vinylcarbazole per month, a mass production technique is already available. The company is ready to shift to mass production as soon as the market need becomes evident.

N-vinylcarbazole is a white powdery compound with a melting point of 65 C. It is insoluble in water, alcohol, and aliphatic hydrocarbons, but highly soluble in toluene and other aromatic hydrocarbons. By using its vinyl group with a radical polymerization property, the Company gains the capability to synthesize homopolymers as well as various copolymers.

Polyvinylcarbazole (PVK), which is obtained by polymerizing N-vinylcarbazole, has long been known as an organic semiconductor. The application of PVK to organic light-emitting diode components and organic transistors is now being studied. Moreover, its application to optical (holographic) memory materials is also being studied because PVK exhibits a refractive index that is more than 1.68 times that of N-vinylcarbazole.

Since no manufacturer currently produces N-vinylcarbazole on an industrial scale, the substance is difficult to obtain for industrial use.

Nippon Shokubai is committed to strengthening its electronic information materials business by maximizing use of its accumulated techniques, and it regards N-vinylcarbazole as an important material. The company is actively addressing ways of accommodating both domestic and international demand by providing samples and by developing new chemical products that answer the need for compounds with similar functions.