Cationic copolymerization of isobutene and conjugated small-ring dienes

1-Methyl-3-methylenecyclobutene (MMCB) and 1,2-dimethylenecyclobutane (DMCB) copolymerized readily with isobutene with aluminum chloride as initiator in methyl chloride solution at temperatures from ?95 to ?78°C. No polymers were obtained with methylenecyclobutene (MCB) under similar conditions. The copolymerization of MMCB with isobutene took place through a 1,5-addition reaction while that of DMCB through both 1,2- and 1,4-addition reactions. Large amounts of gel were present in the copolymers obtained from DMCB if the reaction was carried to high conversion. The commonly observed effects of dienes (i.e., rate retardation and molecular weight depression) on cationic copolymerization reactions were observed but to a much higher degree with these small ring dienes. The thermal crosslinking behavior of the resulting copolymers was investigated. In conjunction with the copolymerization studies, homopolymers of MMCB, DMCB, and 3,3-dimethyl-1-isopropylidene-2-methylenecyclobutane (IMCB) were prepared and their chemical structures examined.     

Review and Future of Ionic Polymerization with Special Emphasis on Carbonyl Polymerization

Ionic polymerization received prominence about 35 years ago when isobutylene was commercially polymerized by two processes which, with some modifications, are still used today [1]. One process uses aluminum chloride as the initiator and the other uses boron trifluoride; both cationic polymerization processes are carried out at low temperatures. A number of additional commercial processes based on cationic and anionic polymerization have since been developed. Cyclic ethers, most prominently tetrahydrofuran, are polymerized cationically to relatively low molecular weight hydroxyl terminated polyethers which have found important uses in polyurethanes. Trioxane is copolymerized with a small amount of ethylene oxide to form a useful copolymer of polyoxymethylene. Other products which are of interest are the polymers of caprolactone and epichlorohydrin and polymers of various epoxides, mainly those of glycidyl ethers which are most commonly known as epoxy resins. Anionic polymerization on a commercial scale has developed along the lines of styrene and isoprene polymers. Stereorubber, stereoregular 1,4-cis isoprenes, are based on lithium initiators and were introduced in the middle 1950s. Triblock polymers based on A-B-A block polymers of isobutylene with styrene as endblocks and prepared from living polymers have been known since the early 1960s.     

Regioselective oxidative polymerization of 1,5-dihydroxynaphthalene catalyzed by bilirubin oxidase in a water–organic solvent mixed solution

Bilirubin oxidase (EC1.11.1.7) was used to catalyze the oxidative polymerization of 1,5-dihydroxynaphthalene to its polymer in a mixed solvent composed of dioxane, ethyl acetate, and acetate buffer. In an aqueous solution, the enzymatic oxidative polymerization hardly occurred and resulted in negligible yield mainly due to the poor solubility of 1,5-dihydroxynaphthalene. In the mixed solvent the conversion proceeded with a yield of ca. 70%. The polymer yield was studied with respect to reaction time and solvent components. Elemental analysis, UV-visible, fluorescent, and FT-IR spectroscopic analyses, proton NMR and electrochemical studies, and solubility in various organic solvents revealed that 1,5-dihydroxynaphthalene is polymerized by the C? C coupling. The molecular weight of the polymeric products solubilized with DMF varied from low molecular weight product to high molecular weight polymer. From the chromatographic studies, the organic solvent–insoluble residue was suggested to be highly polymerized material. Based on these findings a possible mechanism for enzymatic polymerization of 1,5-dihydroxynaphthalene is presented: less stable intermediates produced enzymatically from 1,5-dihydroxynaphthalene undergo coupling and polymerization to ortho-1,5-dihydroxynaphthalene polymer, thereby resulting in a regioselective polymerization of 1,5-dihydroxynaphthalene. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Polymerization and Degradation of 1,5-Dioxepan-2-One

Abstract

1,5-Dioxepan-2-one was polymerized with stannous 2-ethylhexanoate as initiator and gave high molecular weight polymers, with MW > 150,000. The highest molecular weight was achieved at 110°C, and full conversion was reached after 20 hours. The polymerization rate increased with temperature. Transesterfication reactions and thermal degradation occurred above 130°C, which led to a decrease of the molecular weight. Polymerization with anion and cationic initiators led to low molecular weight polymers. Degradation of poly(1, 5-dioxepan-2-one) took place by the hydrolysis of ester bonds, and the initial molecular weight decreased by 30% during 46 weeks, starting from MW = 45,000.     

Novel synthesis of photocrosslinkable polymers

A new preparative route to photocrosslinkable polymers in which the polymers are produced directly from the polymerization of vinyl monomers having photocrosslinkable groups has been investigated. The photosensitive resins thus produced have higher sensitivity and resolution than conventional photosensitive resins. The monomers were synthesized from the esterification of vinylphenols or vinyl β-chloroethyl ether with cinnamic acid, β-styrylacrylic acid, and their homologs, and from the etherification of vinyl β-chloroethyl ether with hydroxychalcones. Homopolymerizations of these monomers and their copolymerizations with other comonomers were investigated with the use of both radical and ionic initiators. It is shown that radical polymerization of the monomers gave soluble polymers only at low conversion. Anionic initiators did not initiate polymerization. Cationic polymerization imparted soluble polymers in high yield, except for the monomers bearing cyano groups, which generally gave insoluble polymers. Infrared and NMR spectroscopic investigation of the cationically obtained soluble polymers and comparative investigation by cationic polymerization of model compounds indicated that polymerization of the monomers proceeds through the vinyl double bond without affecting the photosensitive unsaturated bond. Thus, linear photocrosslinkable polymers with an intact photoreactive group may be produced by cationic polymerization. In general, these polymers have uniform structure and modifiable physical properties depending on the monomer used. The polymer thus obtained from β-vinyloxyethyl cinnamate has been shown to have excellent properties for use as a photo-resist.     

Polymerization of 3,3-dimethyl selenetane

3,3-Dimethyl selenetane has been polymerized under the influence of different cationic and anionic catalysts. Cationic polymerization led to limited conversions because of the occurrence of a termination reaction between the growing chains and the formed polymer. The obtained polymers had low molecular weights. Anionic polymerization gave polymers with molecular weight up to 35,000. The mechanisms of polymerization are believed to be analogous to the mechanisms proposed for the polymerization of thietanes.     

Structure and reactivity in cationic polymerization of butadiene derivatives. II. 1-phenylbutadiene

The reactivity of 1-phenylbutadiene (1-PBD) in cationic polymerization and the monomer structure were investigated. 1-PBD polymerized at ?78°C in several solvents initiated by cationic catalysts such as stannic chloride and tungsten hexachloride. The polymerizations proceeded predominantly via 3,4-type propagation mode, and gave low molecular weight polymers. More than one double bond of 1-PBD was consumed during the polymerizations, probably due to transfer and cyclization reactions. 1-PBD was several times as reactive as styrene and trans-1,3-pentadiene in copolymerizations. The Hammett plots of reactivities of ring-substituted 1-PBD in cationic polymerization gave the p-value of -1.20, which is 0.6 times that of styrene. The ¹H and ¹³C NMR chemical shifts of ring-substituted 1-PBD were measured and discussed in relation to the reaction mechanism.     

Polymerization of β‐pinene with Schiff‐base nickel complexes catalyst: Synthesis of relatively high molecular weight poly(β‐pinene) at high temperature with high productivity

A series of easily accessible and stable Schiff‐base nickel complexes (complex 1 – 4 ) in conjunction with methylaluminoxane (MAO) were employed for the synthesis of relatively high molecular weight β‐pinene polymers at high temperature with high productivity. The ligand structure of the complex had a substantial effect on the polymerization in terms of the productivity and the molecular weight. With complex 4 in the presence of MAO, high molecular weight polymers of β‐pinene (M_n ～ 10,900) were obtained at 40 °C with an extremely high productivity up to 1.25 × 10⁷ g polyβ‐pinene/mol of Ni. ¹H NMR analyses showed that the obtained β‐pinene polymer was structurally identical to that formed by conventional cationic Lewis acid initiators. The polymerization was presumably initiated by the nickel cation formed by the reaction of the schiff‐base nickel complex and MAO, while the propagation proceeded in a manner typical for a conventional carbocationic polymerization process. Direct evidence for the carbocationic polymerization was offered by the fact that quenching of the polymerization with methanol at a low monomer conversion resulted in incorporation of a methoxyl end group into the polymer chain. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 3739–3746, 2007     

Living cationic polymerization of vinyl ethers with a urethane group

To study the possibility of living cationic polymerization of vinyl ethers with a urethane group, 4‐vinyloxybutyl n‐butylcarbamate ( 1 ) and 4‐vinyloxybutyl phenylcarbamate ( 2 ) were polymerized with the hydrogen chloride/zinc chloride initiating system in methylene chloride solvent at ?30 °C ([monomer]₀ = 0.30 M, [HCl]₀/[ZnCl₂]₀ = 5.0/2.0 mM). The polymerization of 1 was very slow and gave only low‐molecular‐weight polymers with a number‐average molecular weight (M_n) of about 2000 even at 100% monomer conversion. The structural analysis of the products showed occurrence of chain‐transfer reactions because of the urethane group of monomer 1 . In contrast, the polymerization of vinyl ether 2 proceeded much faster than 1 and led to high‐molecular‐weight polymers with narrow molecular weight distributions (MWDs ≤ ～1.2) in quantitative yield. The M_n's of the product polymers increased in direct proportion to monomer conversion and continued to increase linearly after sequential addition of a fresh monomer feed to the almost completely polymerized reaction mixture, whereas the MWDs of the polymers remained narrow. These results indicated the formation of living polymer from vinyl ether 2 . The difference of living nature between monomers 1 and 2 was attributable to the difference of the electron‐withdrawing power of the carbamate substituents, namely, n‐butyl for 1 versus phenyl for 2 , of the monomers. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 2960–2972, 2004     

Polymerization of 1-bromo-2-phenylacetylene

The title monomer was polymerized by thermal initiation and the polymers were analyzed by IR, NMR, and GPC. The polymers were found to be low molecular weight species that had eliminated bromine as the polymerization progressed. In addition, initiation with AIBN was attempted, however, no difference in rate of polymerization, percent conversion, or molecular weight was noted between these polymers and those synthesized by thermal initiation. Also, no initiator fragments were found in the polymers.     

Ionic polymerization of 1,2-butylene oxide: GPC,NMR, and IR characterization of the reaction products

The triphenylmethyl hexafluoroarsenate-initiated cationic polymerization of 1,2-butylene oxide in dichloroethane between ?25 and +25°C and its sodium-initiated anionic polymerization in bulk at 20°C have been carried out. Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) molecular weight distribution curves of the reaction products are multinodal. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and infrared (IR) analyses show that the cationically prepared polymers are composed of cyclic oligomers and linear high-molecular-weight products, while the anionically prepared polymers contain only linear products some of which include double bonds. NMR analyses further reveal that the cationically prepared polymers consist of monomer repeat units, while the anionically prepared polymers are essentially made of side products originating from the reaction of 1,2-butylene oxide with the sodium mirror used as the anionic initiator.     

Selective vinyl cationic polymerization of monomers with two cationically polymerizable groups. IV. New initiating systems for selective and living polymerization of p-isopropenylphenyl glycidyl ether

A variety of cationic initiators were employed for p-isopropenylphenyl glycidyl ether (IPGE), an α-methylstyrene derivative with an epoxy pendant, and optimum initiators and reaction conditions were evaluated in terms of its selective vinyl polymerization and living polymerization. Despite the coexistence of two cationically polymerizable groups in IPGE, binary initiating systems (HI, CF₃COOH, or CH₃CH(OiBu)-OCOCH₃, each coupled with ZnI₂) and sulfonic acids (CF₃SO₃H and CH₃SO₃H) selectively polymerized the vinyl group of IPGE in CH₂Cl₂ at ?78°C to produce soluble polymers with epoxy pendant groups in high yield. Metal halides (BF₃OEt₂ and AlEtCl₂) polymerized both the vinyl and epoxy groups of IPGE to give crosslinked insoluble polymers. In contrast, under these conditions, the HI/ZnI₂ system also led to a long-lived polymer, the molecular weight of which increased upon addition of a fresh feed of monomer to a completely polymerized reaction mixture, whereas the use of other initiators resulted in nonliving polymers. At higher temperatures (?40 and ?15°C), soluble poly(IPGE) was also obtained with HI/ZnI₂, but the polymer yield decreased with raising temperature, because of the occurrence of termination reaction.     

Polymerization of β-cyanopropionaldehyde. V. Anionic polymerization initiated by benzophenone–alkali metal complexes

Anionic polymerization of β-cyanopropionaldehyde was studied with use of benzophenone-monosodium, -disodium, and -dilithium complexes as initiators. The resulting poly(cyanoethyl)oxymethylene was compared with that obtained by cationic and coordinated initiators previously reported. Polymer of higher stereoregularity but lower molecular weight was formed in the present system. The marked influence of the initiator concentration on the polymer yield and stereoregularity is explained on the basis of the difference in the degree of association of the alcoholate ion pair, i.e., the associated ion pair may form stereoregular polymer and the nonassociated or less-associated ion pair may form a large amount of amorphous atactic polymer. The initiation with benzophenone-dialkali metal complex was found to be bond-formation type. Chain transfer with active hydrogen of β-cyanopropionaldehyde frequently occurs.     

Selective vinyl cationic polymerization of monomers with two cationically polymerizable groups. II. p-vinylphenyl glycidyl ether: An epoxy-functionalized styrene

p-Vinylphenyl glycidyl ether (VPGE), a styrene derivative with an epoxy pendant, was polymerized by various cationic initiators, and its selective vinyl polymerization was investigated at low temperatures below ?15°C. BF₃OEt₂ (a metal halide) and CF₃SO₃H (a strong protonic acid) polymerized both vinyl and epoxy groups of VPGE, and produced cross-linked insoluble polymers. The HI/I₂ initiating system and iodine, in contrast, polymerized its vinyl group in polar solvents (CH₂Cl₂ and nitroethane) highly selectively in the temperature range of ?15 to ?40°C to give soluble polymers with a polystyrene backbone and epoxy pendants; however, under these conditions, 10–15% of the epoxy groups of the polymers were consumed during the polymerization by the reaction with the growing species. The polymerization by HI/I₂ in CH₂CI₂ involved a long-lived propagating species, as indicated by a progressive increase in the molecular weight (M?_n) of the polymers with monomer conversion and their fairly narrow molecular weight distributions (M?_w/M?_n ～ 1.6). The differences between the polymerizations of VPGE and p-isopropenylphenyl glycidyl ether, an α-methylstyrene-type counterpart of VPGE, were also discussed with an emphasis on the effects of the α-methyl group in the latter monomer.     

Cationic addition polymerization of 1,4‐dioxene using gacl3 as lewis acid catalyst: Long‐lived species‐mediated polymerization

Effective cationic addition polymerization of 1,4‐dioxene, a six‐membered cyclic olefin with two oxygen atoms adjacent to the double bond, was performed using a simple metal halide catalyst system in dichloromethane. The polymerization was controlled when the reaction was conducted using GaCl₃ in conjunction with an isobutyl vinyl ether–HCl adduct as a cationogen at –78°C to give polymers with predetermined molecular weights and relatively narrow molecular weight distributions. The long‐lived properties of the propagating species were further confirmed by a monomer addition experiment and the analyses of the product polymers by ¹H NMR and MALDI–TOF–MS. Although highly clean propagation proceeded, the apparent rate constant changed during the controlled cationic polymerization of 1,4‐dioxene. The reason for the change was discussed based on polymerization results under various conditions. The obtained poly(1,4‐dioxene) exhibited a very high glass transition temperature (T_g) of 217°C and unique solubility. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Haloaldehyde Polymers. XIV. Endgroups in Polychloral

Chloral polymers prepared by anionic polymerization have alkoxide endgroups as terminal ends at the end of this polymerization. The initiating anion has, as expected, no influence on the type of terminal group formed. Polychloral with terminal alkoxide ends degrades easily thermally to monomeric chloral. Alkoxide endgroups in polychloral do not readily react with alkylating or acylating agents, although partial stabilization has been observed when alkoxide-terminated polymers were allowed to stand for periods of time; the endgroups seem to react either with impurities or with excess chloral in side reactions. With protic acids, alkoxide-terminated polychloral is transformed into hydroxyl-terminated polymer of higher thermal stability. Studies of the initiation step of the chloral polymerization revealed that above the ceiling temperature of polymerization, strong nucleophiles, such as soluble tertiary butoxide, initiate quantitatively, but polymerization does not proceed until the mixture is cooled. When chloral is initiated with weaker nucleophiles such as chloride or carboxylates, the initiation equilibrium is not on the side of the initiated species, although it shifts effectively as polymerization proceeds; with carboxylates as initiators the ester group has been found incorporated as the initial endgroup in polychloral. With sufficient amounts of lithium tertiary butoxide as anionic initiator, polychloral of low molecular weight was prepared. This polymer does not react with end-capping reagents (other than PCl₅) as does high molecular weight polychloral; in spite of considerable effort it was not possible to prepare low molecular weight soluble polychloral or oligomeric polychloral. Polychloral prepared with cationic initiators is thermally more stable than unstabilized anionically initiated polychloral but is generally crumbly and incoherent. The end-groups of such polymers are usually hydroxyl endgroups. Identification of endgroups of the polymers has been done where possible by IR spectroscopy, for the initiation reaction by NMR spectroscopy, but for high molecular weight insoluble polymers almost exclusively by comparative thermal polymer degradation.     

Preparation of isotactic‐rich poly(dimethyl vinylphosphonate) and poly(vinylphosphonic acid) via the anionic polymerization of dimethyl vinylphosphonate

A vinylphosphonate monomer, dimethyl vinylphosphonate (DMVP), has been polymerized by anionic initiators. Anionic polymerization of DMVP with tert‐butyllithium (t‐BuLi) in combination with a Lewis acid, tributylaluminum (n‐Bu₃Al), in toluene proceeded smoothly to give an isotactic‐rich poly(dimethyl vinylphosphonate) (PDMVP) with relatively narrow molecular weight distribution. Although all the PDMVPs were soluble in water, the isotactic‐rich PDMVP was insoluble in acetone and in chloroform which are good solvents for an atactic PDMVP prepared by radical polymerization. The isotactic‐rich PDMVP showed higher thermal property than that of the atactic PDMVP. Moreover, we successfully prepared poly(vinylphosphonic acid) (PVPA) through the hydrolysis of the isotactic‐rich PDMVP, which formed a highly transparent, self‐standing film. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 1677–1682, 2010     

Selective vinyl cationic polymerization of monomers with two cationically polymerizable groups. I. p-isopropenylphenyl glycidyl ether: An epoxy-functionalized α-methylstyrene

p-Isopropenylphenyl glycidyl ether (IPGE), a monomer of dual cationic functionality (isopropenyl and epoxy), was polymerized by a variety of initiators, and optimum conditions were established for its selective vinyl cationic polymerization. The hydrogen iodide/iodine (HI/I₂) initiating system or iodine polymerized selectively the isopropenyl group in CH₂Cl₂ at a low temperature (?78°C), to produce soluble poly(IPGE) with epoxy pendants. Under these conditions, the number-average molecular weight of the polymers was inversely proportional to the initial initiator concentration, indicating the formation of long-lived propagating species. Soluble poly(IPGE) was also obtained at ?15 and ?40°C by HI/I₂ or iodine. However, at these higher temperatures, transfer and/or termination reactions took place to give olefin-terminated polymers, in which some of the pendant epoxy groups were consumed. BF₃OEt₂ (a metal halide) and CF₃SO₃H (a strong protonic acid) polymerized both epoxy and isopropenyl groups of IPGE and yielded crosslinked insoluble polymers.     

Polymerization of cyclic derivatives of uracil and thymine

Cyclic derivatives of uracil and thymine were synthesized from their corresponding 1-(2′-chloroethyl) derivatives by dehydrochlorination. These compounds were found to undergo a variety of reactions, giving many valuable derivatives of uracil and thymine. The cyclic derivatives, as monomers, were polymerized with a cationic initiator by a unique ring-opening process. The polymerization proceeded by ring opening with isomerization of the pyrimidine ring to give a polymer in which pyrimidine rings were connected with ethylene between N-1 and N-3 or O-4 in the pyrimidine ring. The structure of these polymers was determined by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), ultraviolet (UV), infrared (IR), and mass spectra. The structure was affected by polymerization temperature.     

On the role of initiator in emulsion polymerization

The use of nonionic poly(ethylene glycol)-azo-initiators instead of ionic initiators in emulsion polymerizations offers interesting possibilities for modifying the colloidal and polymeric properties of polymer dispersions. Experimental results are presented for various kinds of anionic, cationic, and nonionic stabilizers as well as for peroxodisulfate initiators with different counter ions (ammonium and potassium). For example, in a styrene emulsion polymerization (with monomer to water mass ratio of 1:4 at a given concentration of 1% with respect to monomer mass of either an anionic or a cationic surfactant), the replacement of either peroxodisulfate or 2,2'-azobis(2-amidinopropane)dihydrochloride by a poly(ethylene glycol)-azo-initiator (with a poly(ethylene glycol) molecular weight of 200 g mol^-1) leads to particles with considerably smaller size, polymers with higher molecular weight, and latexes with higher viscosity.