Structure of chlorinated poly(vinyl chloride). XII. Configuration and reactivity of low-molecular-weight models of poly(vinyl chloride) in the course of chlorination

The chlorination of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) was investigated by means of low-molecular-weight models of PVC—a dimer and trimer of PVC, viz., 2,4-dichloropentane (2,4-DCP) and 2,4,6-trichloroheptane (2,4,67-TCH). Chlorinations of stereoisomeric mixtures of 2,4-DCP and 2,4,6-TCH have revealed that the d,1 form of 2,4-DCP (syndio-2,4-DCP) is more reactive in the chlorination than the meso form of 2,4-DCP (iso-2,4-DCP), while in the case of the chlorination of 2,4,6-TCH the reactivity of stereoisomers decreases in the order iso-> hetero->syndio-2,4,6-TCH; consequently, analogous structures of stereoisomers of 2,4-DCP and 2,4,6-TCH react in a reverse order and not in the same one. The qualitative order of reactivities of stereoisomers may be correlated formally with the magnitude of their dipole moments. The reactivity of stereoisomers of 2,4-DCP and 2,4,6-TCH decreases with increasing dipole moment.