Aminimide derived from benzoylformic acid ester as photolatent base/radical initiator

An aminimide possessing a benzoyl substituent, 1,1‐dimethyl‐1‐(2‐hydroxypropyl)amine benzoylformimide (BFI), proved to serve as an excellent photobase catalyst. BFI decomposes smoothly by the UV irradiation to give products containing tertiary amines. The effective nature of BFI as a photo/thermal dual‐base catalyst was convinced by the thermal and photoinduced polymerization of epoxide/thiol system. Based on the facts that the mixture of BFI and epoxide/thiol exhibit a long pot life in dark and that it undergoes smooth polymerization by UV irradiation and heating, it was supported that BFI serves as an efficient photo/thermal latent dual‐base catalysts. It was also found that BFI initiates the free radical polymerization of vinyl monomers such as 2‐hydroxylethyl methacrylate (HEMA) under the UV irradiation while the mixture of BFI and HEMA also exhibit a long pot life in dark, indicating the excellent ability of BFI as a photoradical initiator. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Thermal latency and structure–activity relationship of aminimides in the polymerization of epoxide

1,1-Dimethyl-1-(2-hydroxypropyl)amine p-substituted benzimide (“aminimide”) derivatives were prepared by the reaction of p-substituted methyl benzoates with equimolar amounts of 1,1-dimethylhydrazine and propylene oxide. These ylide compounds are shown to be useful as thermally latent initiators for the polymerization of glycidyl phenyl ether (GPE). Bulk polymerization of GPE with 3 mol % of these aminimides was carried out at 40–150°C for 8 h, showing ≥ 100°C was required for an effective rate. No consumption of the monomer could be observed at temperatures lower than 80°C. p-Methoxy substituted 1 showed the largest thermal latency among four aminimides tested. The activities of the aminimides increased with an increase of electron-donating ability of the substituents on the benzene ring, according to the following order: 1 (p-MeO) > 2 (p-Me) > 3 (H) > 4 (p-NO₂). © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 35: 689–694, 1997     

Substituent effect on the cationic ring‐opening polymerization of acyloxymethyl five‐member cyclic dithiocarbonates

Five‐member cyclic dithiocarbonates were synthesized by the reactions of carbon disulfide with benzoic, p‐anisic, p‐chlorobenzoic, 1‐naphthalenecarboxylic, p‐nitrobenzoic, and p‐(tert‐butyl)benzoic glycidyl esters, and their cationic ring‐opening polymerizations were carried out with methyl trifluoromethane sulfonate and trifluoromethane sulfonic acid as initiators at room temperature to 80 °C. Polymers with number‐average molecular weights of 3400–24,900 were obtained in high yields, and their structures were estimated by NMR and IR spectroscopy. The monomers showed a clear difference in the polymerization rate according to the substituents. The rate of polymerization decreased in the order of p‐chlorobenzoic ≥ benzoic > 1‐naphthalenecarboxylic > p‐nitro‐benzoic > p‐tert‐butylbenzoic > p‐anisic. The data of the reaction kinetics, NMR studies, and molecular orbital calculations proved a plausible mechanism involving the participation of p‐substituted benzoyloxymethyl groups to stabilize the cationic propagating end. The polymers showed decomposition temperatures with 5% weight loss ranging from 200 to 260 °C. No glass‐transition temperatures for the polymers were observed below 200 °C by differential scanning calorimetry. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 39: 3967–3980, 2001     

Novel N‐methylbenzothiazolium salts as hardeners for epoxy and acrylate monomers

Novel N‐methylbenzothiazolium salts [N‐methyl‐2‐benzylthiobenzothiazolium, N‐methyl‐2‐(4‐nitrobenzylthio)benzothiazolium, N‐methyl‐2‐(1‐ethoxycarbonylethylthio)benzothiazolium, and N‐methyl‐2‐methylthiobenzothiazolium hexafluoroantimonates] were synthesized by the reaction of the corresponding 2‐substituted benzothiazole with dimethylsulfate, followed by anion exchange with KSbF₆. These benzothiazolium salts cationically polymerized an epoxy monomer by photoirradiation. They also polymerized an acrylate monomer via a photoradical process. The use of aromatic compounds such as 2‐ethyl‐9,10‐dimethoxyanthracene as photosensitizers was effective in enhancing the polymerization. These benzothiazolium salts also served as thermal cationic initiators. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 3828–3837, 2003     

Ring‐opening polymerization of 1,3‐benzoxazines by p‐toluenesulfonates as thermally latent initiators

p‐Toluenesulfonic acid (TsOH) and several alkyl p‐toluenesulfonates, that is, methyl p‐toluenesulfonate (TsOMe), cyclohexyl p‐toluenesulfonate (TsOCH), and neopentyl p‐toluenesulfonate (TsONP), were evaluated as initiators for the ring‐opening polymerization of benzoxazines. TsOH and TsOMe were highly efficient initiators that induced the polymerization at 60 and 80 °C, respectively. In contrast, TsOCH and TsONP did not initiate the polymerization below 100 °C, while they induced the polymerization at elevated temperatures, 120 and 150 °C, respectively. When TsOCH was used as an initiator, the corresponding polymerization rate was comparable to that observed for the polymerization with using TsOH as an initiator. These results suggested that neutral TsOCH and TsONP can be regarded as “thermally latent initiators,” which underwent the thermal dissociation at the elevated temperatures to generate the corresponding alkyl cations and/or TsOH as the initiators of the polymerization. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Photocationic and radical polymerizations of epoxides and acrylates by novel sulfonium salts

Novel sulfonium salts [methyl‐, 2‐indany‐, or 1‐ethoxycarbonylethyl methyl‐2‐naphthylsulfonium hexafluorophosphate and 2‐indany‐, 1‐ethoxycarbonylethyl‐, 2‐methyl‐2‐phenylpropyl‐, 2‐phenylpropyl‐, 2‐phenylethyl‐, 2‐(4‐methoxyphenyl)‐ethyl‐, or 3‐(4‐methoxyphenyl)‐2‐propyl methylphenylsulfonium hexafluorophosphates] were synthesized by the reaction of dimethylsulfate and the corresponding sulfides followed by anion exchange with KPF₆. These sulfonium salts could polymerize epoxy monomers at lower temperatures than previously reported for benzylsulfonium salt initiators. In particular, sulfonium salts with naphthyl groups showed higher photoactivity than already reported for di(4‐tert‐butylphenyl)iodonium and triphenylsulfonium hexafluorophosphates. These sulfonium salts showed higher activity in photoradical polymerization and photocationic polymerization. The photopolymerization was accelerated by the addition of 4‐methoxy‐1‐naphthol, N‐ethylcarbazole, 2,4‐dimethylthioxanthone, phenothiazine, and 2‐ethyl‐9,10‐dimethoxyanthracene as photosensitizers. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 3816–3827, 2003     

Cationic polymerization behavior of isobutyl vinyl ether with arenesulfonates as non‐salt‐type latent thermal initiators

Substituted and unsubstituted benzenesulfonic acid cyclohexyl esters (1–7) were synthesized, and their possibility as latent thermal initiators in the cationic polymerization of isobutyl vinyl ether (IBVE) was examined to develop novel non‐salt type latent cationic initiators. Thermal decomposition of cyclohexyl p‐nitrobenzenesulfonate (2) in C₆D₆ at 80°C proceeded to exclusively afford cyclohexene as well as p‐nitrobenzenesulfonic acid. Cationic polymerization of IBVE with 1 mol % of an arenesulfonate (1–6) in bulk was carried out at 40–100°C for 12 h. No polymerization took place below 50°C, while the consumption of IBVE depending on both the polymerization temperature and the structure of the arenesulfonates was observed above 60°C. The obtained polyIBVEs showed bimodal GPC curves in several cases, revealing the intervention of two independent propagation species in the polymerization. The cationic polymerization of IBVE with cyclohexyl 2,4,6‐triisopropylbenzenesulfonate (7) at 80°C confirmed the acceleration effect of bulkiness on the polymerization rate. It was concluded that the polymerization was largely dependent on both electronic and steric factors of the aryl groups of the initiators which were directly related to the stability of the sulfonate anions. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 293–301, 1999     

Synthesis and activity of aryl benzyl methyl sulfonium salts as cationic initiators: Effect of substituent on aryl group

Benzyl o-, m-, and p-substituted phenyl methyl sulfonium salts ( 2b – 2g ) were synthesized and their activities as cationic initiators were evaluated in the bulk polymerization of phenyl glycidyl ether (PGE). Especially, their activities were estimated with respect to the effect of substituents on the aryl groups. In the polymerizations of PGE with a series of benzyl p-substituted phenyl methyl sulfonium salts, the order of their activities was found to be 2c (CH₃OCOO) > 2b (CH₃COO) > 2d (CH₃O) ～ 2a (HO). In particular, 2c was the most active initiator of all, capable of initiating the polymerization of PGE even at room temperature. In the polymerizations with 2a, 2e (m-Cl), 2f (o-CH₃), and 2g (m-CH₃), the activity of 2e was the highest of all while those of 2a, 2f , and 2g were almost the same. These results strongly suggested that the electron-withdrawing group placed on the aryl group undoubtedly enhanced the activity of the sulfonium salts as the cationic initiators.     

Radical ring‐opening polymerization of five‐membered cyclic vinyl sulfone using p‐toluenesulfonyl halides

Radical ring‐opening polymerizations of a five‐membered cyclic vinyl sulfone monomer, 2‐vinylthiolane‐1,1‐dioxide (VTDO), was carried out by using p‐toluenesulfonyl iodide (TosI) and bromide (TosBr) as radical initiators, and the corresponding ring‐opened polymer (PVTDO) was obtained. Both TosI and TosBr were found to work as the radical initiators for the polymerization of VTDO in bulk. The use of TosI gave PVTDOs with a broad, multimodal distribution of molecular weight in low yields. When 10 mol % of TosBr was employed, the isolated yield of PVTDO reached 49%, and the obtained PVTDO had a relatively narrow, monomodal molecular weight distribution of 1.8 with an M_n of 4100. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2013     

Homoleptic lanthanide guanidinate complexes: The effective initiators for the polymerization of trimethylene carbonate and its copolymerization with ε‐caprolactone

The ring‐opening polymerization of trimethylene carbonate (TMC) using homoleptic lanthanide guanidinate complexes [RNC(NR′₂)NR]₃Ln as single component initiators has been fully investigated for the first time. The substituents on guanidinate ligands and center metals show great effect on the catalytic activities of these complexes, that is, ? N(CH₂)₅ > ? NⁱPr₂ > ? NPh₂ (for R′), ? Cy > ? ⁱPr (for R), and Yb > Sm > Nd. Among them, [Ph₂NC(NCy)₂]₃Yb shows the highest catalytic activity. Some features and kinetic behaviors of the TMC polymerization initiated by [Ph₂NC(NCy)₂]₃Yb were studied in detail. The polymerization rate is first order, with the monomer concentration and M_n of the polymer increasing with the polymer yield increasing linearly. The results indicated the present system having “living character.” A mechanism that the polymerization occurs via acyl‐oxygen bond cleavage rather than alkyl‐oxygen bond cleavage was proposed. The copolymerization of TMC with ?‐caprolactone (ε‐CL) initiated by [Ph₂NC(NCy)₂]₃Yb was also tested. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 1778–1786, 2005     

Radical polymerization of 1‐alkenes catalyzed by lithium salts of carboranes

Radical polymerization of selected 1‐alkenes, (1‐hexene, 1‐octene and 2‐methyl‐1‐heptene), initiated with classical radical initiators and catalyzed by lithium salts of selected carboranes was studied. In accordance with recently published results it was found that the use of radical initiators under catalysis by “naked” lithium cation of carboranes promotes the radical polymerization of 1‐alkenes, otherwise nonpolymerizable by the radical mechanism. However, although in our experiments relatively high monomers conversions are reached for some of the thermal initiators used, only low‐molecular‐weight oligomers with M_n < 1000 are formed, regardless of the initiator and carborane anion used. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Synthesis and asymmetric polymerization of a series of methyl‐substituted triphenylmethyl methacrylate

Five novel ortho‐, meta‐, and para‐methyl‐substituted triphenylmethyl methacrylate monomers, such as o‐tolyldiphenylmethyl methacrylate (o‐MeTrMA), di‐o‐tolylphenylmethyl methacrylate (o‐Me₂TrMA), tris‐o‐tolylmethyl methacrylate (o‐Me₃TrMA), tris‐m‐tolylmethyl methacrylate (m‐Me₃TrMA), and tris‐p‐tolylmethyl methacrylate (p‐Me₃TrMA) have been synthesized. The methanolysis rates of these monomers were measured in CDCl₃‐CD₃OD (1:1, v/v) by ¹H NMR spectroscopy at 30 °C. It was found that the order of the methanolysis rates would be TrMA<o‐MeTrMA<o‐Me₂TrMA<o‐Me₃TrMA<m‐Me₃TrMA except p‐Me₃TrMA, which exhibited very good stability to methanolysis. The asymmetric polymerization of these monomers was investigated by chiral anionic complexes as initiators. The results showed that the ability to form a helical chain was effected not only by the types of chiral complex initiators, but also by the position and number of methyl‐substituted groups at the benzene rings of TrMA. The order of the ability of polymerization was o‐MeTrMA >o‐Me₂TrMA>o‐Me₃TrMA and m‐Me₃TrMA> p‐Me₃TrMA>o‐Me₃TrMA. These differences would be attributed to the different sizes and “propeller” steric structures of the bulky side groups. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 39: 430–436, 2001     

Cationic polymerization behavior of seven-membered cyclic sulfite

Cationic ring-opening polymerization behavior of a seven-membered cyclic sulfite ( 1 ) was examined. 1 was prepared by the reaction of 1,4-butanediol with SOCl₂ in 58% yield. The cationic polymerization of 1 was carried out at 0, 25, 60, or 100°C with trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (TfOH), methyl trifluoromethanesulfonate (TfOMe), BF₃ · OEt₂, SnCl₄, methyl p-toluenesulfonate (TsOMe), or MeI as an initiator in bulk under a nitrogen atmosphere to afford the polymer with M̄_n 1000–10,400. The order of activities of the initiators for 1 was as follows, TfOH ≅ TfOMe > SnCl₄ > BF₃ · OEt₂ > TsOMe ≅ MeI. The polymerization of 1 with TfOMe afforded a poly(sulfite) below 25°C, but afforded a polymer containing an ether unit at 60°C, which was formed by a desulfoxylation. The higher the activity of the initiator was, the more easily the desulfoxylation occurred. We expected volume expansion on polymerization because cyclic sulfites have large dipole moment values, but it turned out that 1 showed 4.34% shrinkage on polymerization. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 35: 3673–3682, 1997     

Polymerization of epoxide with hydroxylamides as thermally latent initiators

A new class of thermally latent initiators for the ring‐opening polymerization of epoxides has been developed. The latent initiators developed herein were the hydroxylamides 1a , 1b , and 1c , which were synthesized from phthalide, 3‐isochromanone, and cis‐cyclohexahydrophthalide, respectively, by their ring‐opening reactions with pyrrolidine. These hydroxylamides were designed so that their hydroxyl groups could attack the amide moiety intramolecularly upon heating, leading to ring closure and formation of the corresponding lactones while releasing pyrrolidine, the initiator for the anionic ring‐opening polymerization of an epoxide. The temperatures at which this thermal dissociation occurred were strongly dependent on the hydroxylamide molecular structure. When using the hydroxylamides as thermally latent initiators, the polymerizations of bisphenol‐A diglycidyl ether were investigated at various temperatures. This investigation clarified that the threshold temperature, that is, the temperature at which polymerization was initiated, increased in the order of 1a , 1b , and then 1c . © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 2611–2617     

Oxidative coupling polymerization of 2,3‐dihydroxynaphthalene with dinuclear‐type copper(II) catalyst

The oxidative coupling polymerization of 2,3‐dihydroxynaphthalene with the novel dinuclear‐type copper(II) catalysts successfully produced poly(2,3‐dihydroxy‐1,4‐naphthylene). For example, the MeOH‐insoluble polymer with a number average molecular weight of 4.4 × 10³ from the polymerization using the complex of CuCl₂ and N,N′‐bis(2‐morpholinoethyl)‐p‐xylylenediamine ( p ‐ 1 ) at room temperature under an O₂ atmosphere followed by acetylation of the hydroxyl groups was obtained in 63% yield. The structures of the tetraamine ligands and the counter anion of the copper(II) salts significantly influenced the catalyst activity. The polymerization of 2,2′‐dimethoxy‐1,1′‐binaphthalene‐3,3′‐diol with the 2CuCl₂‐ p ‐ 1 catalyst, however, resulted in a lower yield. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 1635–1640, 2005     

Living cationic isomerization polymerization of β-pinene. III. Synthesis of end-functionalized polymers and graft copolymers

α-End-functionalized polymers and macromonomers of β-pinene were synthesized by living cationic isomerization polymerization in CH₂Cl₂ at −40°C initiated with the HCl adducts [ 1; CH₃CH(OCH₂CH₂X)Cl; X = chloride ( 1a ), acetate ( 1b ), and methacrylate ( 1c )] of vinyl ethers carrying pendant substituents X that serve as terminal functionalities. In conjunction with TiCl₃(OiPr) and nBu₄NCl, these functionalized initiators led to living β-pinene polymerization where the carbon–chlorine bond of 1 was activated by TiCl₃(OiPr). Similarly, end-functionalized poly(p-methylstyrene)-block-poly(β-pinene) were also obtained. ¹H-NMR analysis showed that the polymers possess controlled molecular weights (DP _n = [M]₀/[ 1 ]₀) and number-average end functionalities close to unity. The end-functionalized methacrylate-capped macromonomers form 1c were radically copolymerized with methyl methacrylate (MMA) to give graft copolymers carrying poly(β-pinene) or poly(p-methylstyrene)-block-poly(β-pinene) as graft chains attached to a PMMA backbone. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 35: 1423–1430, 1997     

Synthesis of phosphate end‐functional polymers and application to thermally latent polymeric initiators

Novel phosphates, O‐p‐(hydroxymethyl)benzyl O,O‐diethyl phosphate ( 1 ) and O‐(2‐bromoisobutyryloxymethyl)benzyl O,O‐diethyl phosphate ( 2 ) were synthesized by the reaction of diethyl phosphorochloridate with 1,4‐benzenedimethanol and the successive reaction with 2‐bromoisobutyryl bromide in the presence of triethylamine and submitted to the polymerization of ?‐caprolactone and methyl methacrylate as the initiators. They afforded phosphate end‐functional poly(?‐caprolactone) and poly(methyl methacrylate) with controlled molecular weights and polydispersity ratios by living ring‐opening polymerization and samarium‐induced polymerization. The polymerization of glycidyl phenyl ether (GPE) was carried out with the phosphate end‐functional polymers as the latent polymeric initiators in the presence of ZnCl₂. The polymerization of GPE did not proceed below 90 °C, but it rapidly proceeded to afford poly(GPE) above the temperature. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 39: 3832–3840, 2001     

Effect of alkyl substituents on initiator activity in cationic polymerization of styrene with p-methoxybenzyldialkylsulfonium salts as initiators

The effect of alkyl substituents on cationic polymerization of styrene with p-methoxybenzyldialkysulfonium salts was studied. p-Methoxybenzyl tetramethylene ( 1 ), dimethyl ( 2 ), diethyl ( 3 ), dibuty ( 4 ), and diisopropylsulfonium salts ( 5 ) were synthesized by the reaction of p-methoxybenzyl bromide with the corresponding sulfides, followed by exchange of the counter anion Br^? with SbF^?₆. These sulfonium salts served as potent cationic thermal initiators of which activity was estimated by the bulk and solution polymerizations of styrene. The bulk polymerizations with 1–4 (0.1 mol %) for 30 min gradually proceeded at 30–50°C, but the exothermic polymerization occurred vigorously at 40–60°C. The Polymerization with 5 took place exothermically even at room temperature. Temperature-conversion curves of the polymerizations for 30 and 5 min revealed that the activity of the sulfonium salts was in the following order: 5 > 4 > 3 > 2 ≈ 1 . This order was explained by the order of the bulkiness of the alkyl substituents on the sulfur atom. Number-average molecular weight (M?_n) of polystyrene obtained by the polymerization undergoing no exothermic process was in a range of 6600–16000, which depended on the structure of the alkyl substituents: the more bulky the substituent was, the higher M?_n was.     

Application of S‐alkylsulfonium salts of aromatic sulfides as new thermal latent cationic initiators

The cationic initiation activity of derivatives of S‐methylsulfonium salts of dibenzothiophene ( 3a ), diphenyl sulfide ( 4a ), thioanisole ( 4d ), and tetrahydrothiophene ( 5 ) was evaluated in the polymerization of glycidyl phenyl ether ( 1 ). These initiators were soluble in 1 and capable of initiating the cationic polymerization of 1 on heating, with the exception of methyltetrahydrothiophenium tetrafluoroborate ( 5 ; in the range of room temperature to 160 °C). Among them, methyldiphenylsulfonium tetrafluoroborate ( 4a ) showed a moderate thermal latency that brought about the polymerization of 1 efficiently at 160 °C but not below 80 °C. S‐Alkylsulfonium salts of aromatic sulfides such as phenoxathiin ( 6a ) and thianthrene ( 6b ) also were evaluated for their activity in the cationic polymerization of 1 , from which the thermal latent behavior of these salts also was confirmed (i.e., there was no reaction at 60 °C for 3 h, but there was a high enough conversion at 140 °C). Furthermore, the catalytic activity of S‐alkylsulfonium derivatives was controllable by both the property of the substituents on the aromatic rings and the character of the alkyl groups on the sulfur atom. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 18–27, 2000     

Antithetic function of alcohol in living cationic polymerization: From terminator/inhibitor to useful initiator

We employed alcohols as initiators for living cationic polymerization of vinyl ethers and p‐methoxystyrene, coupled with tolerant Lewis acid, borontrifluoride etherate (BF₃OEt₂), although they were known to be poisonous reagent to bring about chain‐breaking such as chain transfer/termination rather than such beneficial one for propagation and polymerization‐control. As well known, without assistance of additive, ill‐defined polymers with broad molecular weight distributions (MWDs) were produced. Even addition of conventional oxygen‐based bases, for example, ethyl acetate (AcOEt), 1,4‐dioxane (DO), tetrahydrofran (THF), and diethyl ether (Et₂O) was less efficient in this system to control molecular weights and MWDs (M_w/M_n > 2.0). In contrast, by addition of dimethyl sulfide (Me₂S), MWDs of the resultant polymers became much narrower (M_w/M_n < 1.23) and the number‐average molecular weight (M_n) increased in direct proportion to monomer conversion in agreement with the calculated values assuming that one alcohol molecule generates one polymer chain. Studying changed feed‐ratio of alcohol to monomer and structural analyses with NMR and MALDI‐TOF‐MS indicated that quantitative initiation from alcohol giving alkoxide counteranion. This system opens a new way to use a variety of alcohols as initiators, which would allow us to design variety of structures and functions of counteranion. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 4194–4201, 2009