The influence of solute-solvent interactions on the kinetics and stereospecificity of polymerization-the relevance of aromatic solvent shifts observed on the nmr spectrum of methyl methacrylate

The effect of certain aromatic compounds on the PMR spectrum of methyl methacrylate (MMA) was investigated. The magnitude of observed aromatic-induced shifts decreased in the order benzene ? styrene > chlorobenzene ≈ bromobenzene.Assuming that the interaction arises from a stoichiometric 1:1 complex, equilibrium parameters for the MMA-benzene interaction have been estimated. ΔH ± S.E. (ΔH) = ?(8 ± 4) kJ mol^?1. These effects are likely to have a small influence on the kinetics of copolymerization with aromatic monomers and polymerization in aromatic solvent. The stereochemistry of the solute-solvent interactions suggests that MMA takes a cis-conformation in solution, which is relevant to the mechanism of stereoregular polymerizations of this monomer.