Living cationic polymerization of α‐methyl vinyl ethers using SnCl4

Cationic polymerization of α‐methyl vinyl ethers was examined using an IBEA‐Et_1.5AlCl_1.5/SnCl₄ initiating system in toluene in the presence of ethyl acetate at 0 ～ ?78 °C. 2‐Ethylhexyl 2‐propenyl ether (EHPE) had a higher reactivity, compared to corresponding vinyl ethers. But the resulting polymers had low molecular weights at 0 or ?50 °C. In contrast, the polymerization of EHPE at ?78 °C almost quantitatively proceeded, and the number‐average molecular weight (M_n) of the obtained polymers increased in direct proportion to the EHPE conversion with quite narrow molecular weight distributions (weight‐average molecular weight/number‐average molecular weight ≤ 1.05). In monomer‐addition experiments, the M_n of the polymers shifted higher with low polydispersity as the polymerization proceeded, indicative of living polymerization. In the polymerization of methyl 2‐propenyl ether (MPE), the living‐like propagation also occurred under the reaction conditions similar to those for EHPE, but the elimination of the pendant methoxy groups was observed. The introduction of a more stable terminal group, quenched with sodium diethyl malonate, suppressed this decomposition, and the living polymerization proceeded. The glass transition temperature of the obtained poly(MPE) was 34 °C, which is much higher than that of the corresponding poly(vinyl ether). This poly(MPE) had solubility characteristics that differed from those of poly(vinyl ethers). © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 2202–2211, 2008     

Living cationic polymerization of ethyl 2-(vinyloxy)ethoxyacetate: A vinyl ether with an ether and an ester function in the pendant

Ethyl 2-(vinyloxy)ethoxyacetate ( 4 ; CH₂?CH? OCH₂CH₂OCH₂? COOC₂H₅), a vinyl ether having both carboxylic acid ester and oxyethylene unit in its pendant, afforded well-defined living polymers when polymerized by the hydrogen iodide/iodine (HI/I₂) initiating system in toluene at ?40°C. The polymers possessed a narrow molecular weight distribution (M _w/M _n ≤ 1.15), and their molecular weight (M _n) increased proportionally to monomer conversion or the molar ratio of the monomer to hydrogen iodide. The polymer molecular weight also increased upon addition of a fresh feed of the monomer to a completely polymerized reaction mixture. Polymers of high molecular weights (M _n > 5 × 10⁵) and broad molecular weight distributions were obtained by BF₃OEt₂ in toluene at ?40°C. Polymerization rate of 4 with HI/I₂ is ca. 100 times greater than that of the corresponding alkyl vinyl ether, and thus 4 was found to be one of the most reactive vinyl ethers thus far studied. Alkaline hydrolysis of the pendant ester groups of the polymers gave a vinyl ether-based polymeric carboxylic acid 6 with a narrow molecular weight distribution.     

Poly(alkylene oxide) ionomers IX. Polymerization of methyl ω-epoxyalkanoates and characterization of the polymers

Polymerization of linear methyl ω-epoxyalkanoates of C-3 to C-10 carboxylic acids (0 to 7 methylene groups between oxirane ring and carbomethoxy group) was accomplished with a triethylaluminum/water/acetylacetone (1.0/0.5/1.0) initiator system to yield polymers of high molecular weight, apparently via a coordinative anionic mechanism. The rate of polymerization increased as the number of methylene groups between the oxirane ring and the carbomethoxy group increased, up to three methylene groups. When more than three methylene groups separate the polymerizable oxirane group and the carbomethoxy group, the rate of polymerization becomes essentially constant. The polymers were characterized by their infrared and ¹³C-NMR spectra, DSC, GPC, and inherent viscosity. The lower members of the series (ω-epoxyalkanoates of n < 3) gave polymers of lower molecular weight and wider-molecular-weight distribution (M _w/M _n > 2), while the higher members had molecular weight distributions between 1.5 and 2. The glass transition temperatures of the polymers also decreased from ?26°C for n = 1 to around ?50 to ?55°C for n ≥ 3.     

Molecular weight distribution and stereoregularity of polypropylenes produced with VCl4–AlEt2Cl catalyst

Dependences of the molecular weight distribution and stereochemical regulation of the polypropylenes produced with VCl₄–AlEt₂Cl catalyst on the polymerization temperature were examined. The molecular weight distributions of the polymers obtained at temperatures below ?40°C were unimodal and narrow (M _w/M _n ≤ 2). The molecular weight distributions obtained at higher temperatures (above ?21°C) were bimodal with one narrow distribution and one wide one (M _w/M _n > 2), and the polymer fraction of the wide distribution increased with the polymerization temperature. The fractional amount of ? (CH₂)₂? groups in the polymers, which corresponds to tail-to-tail linkage of two propylene units, increased to a maximum at ?21°C followed by a gradual decrease with the polymerization temperature. The production of isotactic polymers was confirmed at temperatures above ?21°C. From these data, it is concluded that only the homogeneous form of the catalyst system is responsible for the polymerization at temperatures below about ?21°C while the heterogeneous form appears and catalyzes the polymerization together with the homogeneous one at temperatures above ?21°C.     

Crosslinkable fluorinated poly(arylene ethers) bearing phenyl ethynyl moiety for low-loss polymer optical waveguide devices

Crosslinkable fluorinated poly(arylene ethers) (FPAE-Fn-PEP) with high transparency and high thermal stability have been investigated for low-loss optical waveguide materials. FPAE-Fn-PEP bearing phenyl ethynyl moiety at the polymer chain end were synthesized by the reaction of 4,4′-(hexafluoro-isopropylidene)diphenol with an excess decafluorobiphenyl, followed by the reaction of 4-phenyl ethynyl phenol. The M_ns and M_w/M_ns of the polymers determined by GPC with polystyrene standard were in the range of 6200 to 19,400 and 1.4 to 2.04, respectively. The resulting polymers were thermally crosslinked at 320°C for 2 h. The cured polymers show good chemical resistance and high thermal stability up to 510°C under nitrogen. The refractive indices of their films were controlled between 1.495 and 1.530 at 1.55 μm by adjusting molecular weight. A single-mode channel waveguide made of FPAE-F20-PEP was fabricated by conventional photolithography and O₂ reactive ion etching (RIE). The propagation loss of the channel waveguide was measured and found to be less than 0.2 dB/cm at 1.55 μm. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 2881–2887, 1998     

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     

Gel formation in cationic polymerization of divinyl ethers. III. Effect of oligooxyethylene chain versus oligomethylene chain as central spacer units

Cationic polymerizations of two series of divinyl ethers were carried out to clarify the effects of their central spacer chain structure on their crosslinking polymerization behavior. One series of the monomers involves divinyl ethers with an oligooxyethylene central spacer chain: diethylene glycol divinyl ether ( O‐3 ), triethylene glycol divinyl ether ( O‐4 ), tetraethylene glycol divinyl ether ( O‐5 ), pentaethylene glycol divinyl ether ( O‐6 ), and heptaethylene glycol divinyl ether ( O‐8 ) (see Scheme 1 ). The other series includes divinyl ethers with an oligomethylene central spacer chain: 1,4‐butanediol divinyl ether ( C‐4 ), 1,6‐hexanediol divinyl ether ( C‐6 ), and 1,8‐octanediol divinyl ether ( C‐8 ). Cationic polymerizations of these monomers were carried out with the hydrogen chloride/zinc chloride (HCl/ZnCl₂) initiating system in methylene chloride (CH₂Cl₂) at ?30 °C ([Monomer]₀ = 0.15 M; [HCl]₀ = 5.0 mM; [ZnCl₂]₀ = 0.5 mM). The polymerizations of the oligomethylene‐based divinyl ethers C‐6 and C‐8 caused gel formation at high monomer conversions (～90%), whereas C‐4 formed soluble polymers even at almost 100% monomer conversion. The oligooxyethylene‐based divinyl ethers O‐3 , O‐4 , O‐5 , and O‐6 underwent gel‐free polymerizations up to 100% monomer conversion and O‐8 did so at least up to ～80% conversion. The content of unreacted pendant vinyl groups of the obtained soluble polymers was measured by ¹H NMR spectroscopy. In the polymerizations of the oligomethylene‐based divinyl ethers ( C‐4 , C‐6 , and C‐8 ), the vinyl contents of the polymers decreased monotonously with increasing monomer conversion, and their number‐average molecular weights (M_n's) and polydispersity ratios (M_w/M_n's) increased considerably just before the gelation occurred. On the contrary, the vinyl contents of the polymers obtained from the oligooxyethylene‐based divinyl ethers ( O‐3 , O‐4 , O‐5 , O‐6 , and O‐8 ) decreased steeply even in the early stage of the polymerizations and almost all the pendant vinyl ether groups were consumed in the soluble polymers at the final stage of the polymerizations. The oligooxyethylene spacer units adjacent to the pendant unreacted vinyl ether groups may solvate intramolecularly with the carbocationic active center to accelerate frequent occurrence of intramolecular crosslinking reactions. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 3729–3738, 2004     

Synthesis and polymerization of N‐(4‐tetrahydropyranyl‐oxyphenyl)maleimide

N‐(4‐Tetrahydropyranyl‐oxy‐phenyl)maleimide (THPMI) was prepared and polymerized by radical or anionic initiators. THPMI could be polymerized by 2,2′‐azobis(isobutyronitrile) (AIBN) and potassium tert‐butoxide. Radical polymers (poly(THPMI)r) were obtained in 15–50% yields for AIBN in THF at 65°C after 2–5 h. The yield of anionic polymers (poly(THPMI)a) obtained from potassium tert‐butoxide in THF at 0°C after 20 h was 91%. The molecular weights of poly(THPMI)r and poly(THPMI)a were M_n = 2750–3300 (M_w/M_n = 1.2–3.3) and M_n = 11300 (M_w/M_n = 6.0), respectively. The difference in molecular weights of the polymers was due to the differences in the termination mechanism of polymerization and the solubility of these polymers in THF. The thermal decomposition temperatures were 205 and 365°C. The first decomposition step was based on elimination of the tetrahydropyranyl group from the poly(THPMI). Positive image patterns were obtained by chemical amplification of positive photoresist composed of poly(THPMI) and 4‐morpholinophenyl diazonium trifluoromethanesulfonate used as an acid generator. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 341–347, 1999     

Dendrimers as scaffolds for multifunctional reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer agents: Syntheses and polymerization

The synthesis and characterization of novel first‐ and second‐generation true dendritic reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) agents carrying 6 or 12 pendant 3‐benzylsulfanylthiocarbonylsulfanylpropionic acid RAFT end groups with Z‐group architecture based on 1,1,1‐hydroxyphenyl ethane and trimethylolpropane cores are described in detail. The multifunctional dendritic RAFT agents have been used to prepare star polymers of poly(butyl acrylate) (PBA) and polystyrene (PS) of narrow polydispersities (1.4 < polydispersity index < 1.1 for PBA and 1.5 < polydispersity index < 1.3 for PS) via bulk free‐radical polymerization at 60 °C. The novel dendrimer‐based multifunctional RAFT agents effect an efficient living polymerization process, as evidenced by the linear evolution of the number‐average molecular weight (M_n) with the monomer–polymer conversion, yielding star polymers with molecular weights of up to M_n = 160,000 g mol^?1 for PBA (based on a linear PBA calibration) and up to M_n = 70,000 g mol^?1 for PS (based on a linear PS calibration). A structural change in the chemical nature of the dendritic core (i.e., 1,1,1‐hydroxyphenyl ethane vs trimethylolpropane) has no influence on the observed molecular weight distributions. The star‐shaped structure of the generated polymers has been confirmed through the cleavage of the pendant arms off the core of the star‐shaped polymeric materials. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 5877–5890, 2004     

Development of gel permeation chromatography for polymer characterization. II. Universal calibration

GPC appearance volumes have been determined for a series of linear polyethylene, polystyrene, and polybutadiene fractions (M_w/M_n < 1.1) in trichlorobenzene at 130°C. and for the latter two series in tetrahydrofuran at 23°C. A polymer-type independent relationship between appearance volumes and the equivalent hydrodynamic radii of the polymer molecules has been demonstrated. The equivalent hydrodynamic radius is calculated from intrinsic viscosity data. It is proposed that this relationship can be used to construct a universal GPC calibration curve for polymers that assume a spherical conformation in solution. Methods for applying the universal curve to the determination of molecular weight averages and molecular weight distribution are described. In addition, a method is outlined by which the universal calibration curve can be empolyed for determining number-average Mark-Houwink constants from polydisperse samples.     

Atom transfer radical copolymerization of n‐hexylmaleimide and styrene in an ionic liquid

Dendritic polyarylether 2‐bromoisobutyrates of different generations (Gn‐Br, n = 1–3) as macroinitiators for the atom transfer radical copolymerization of N‐hexylmaleimide and styrene in an ionic liquid, 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, were investigated. The copolymerization carried out in the ionic liquid with CuBr/pentamethyldiethylenetriamine as a catalyst at room temperature afforded polymers with well‐defined molecular weights and low polydispersities (1.18 < M_w/M_n < 1.36, where M_w is the weight‐average molecular weight and M_n is the number‐average molecular weight), and the resultant copolymers possessed an alternating structure over a wide range of monomer feeds (f₁ = 0.3–0.8). Meanwhile, the copolymerization was also conducted in anisole at 110 °C under similar conditions so that the effect of the reaction media on the polymerization could be evaluated. The monomer reactivity ratios showed that the tendency to form alternating copolymers for the two monomers was stronger in ionic liquids than in anisole. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 3360–3366, 2002     

Living cationic polymerization of vinyl ethers with a functional group. VII. Polymerization of vinyl ethers with a silyloxyl group and synthesis of polyalcohols and related functional polymers

Living cationic polymerizations of two silicon-containing vinyl ethers, 2-(t-butyldimethyl-silyloxyl)ethyl vinyl ether (tBuSiVE) and 2-(trimethylsilyloxyl)ethyl vinyl ether (MeSiVE), have been achieved with use of the hydrogen iodide/iodine (HI/I₂) initiating system in toluene at ?15 or ?40°C, despite the existence of the acid-sensitive silyloxyl pendants. The living nature of the polymerizations was demonstrated by linear increases in the number-average molecular weights (M?_n) of the polymers in direct proportion to monomer conversion and by their further rise upon addition of a second monomer feed to a completely polymerized reaction mixture. The polymers obtained in these experiments all exhibited very narrow molecular weight distributions (MWD) with M?_w/M?_n around or below 1.1. Desilylation of the polymers under mild conditions (with H⁺ for MeSiVE and F^? for tBuSiVE) gave poly(2-hydroxyethyl vinyl ether), a water-soluble polyalcohol with a narrow MWD. The living processes also permitted clean syntheses of amphiphilic AB block copolymers and water-soluble methacrylate-type macromonomers, all of which bear narrowly distributed segments of the polyalcohol derived from the silicon-containing vinyl ethers.     

Living cationic polymerization of vinyl ethers in the presence of a strong base: Poisonous or helpful?

A quite small dose of a poisonous species was found to induce living cationic polymerization of isobutyl vinyl ether (IBVE) in toluene at 0 °C. In the presence of a small amount of N,N‐dimethylacetamide, living cationic polymerization of IBVE was achieved using SnCl₄, producing a low polydispersity polymer (weight–average molecular weight/number–average molecular weight (M_w/M_n) ≤ 1.1), whereas the polymerization was terminated at its higher concentration. In addition, amine derivatives (common terminators) as stronger bases allow living polymerization when a catalytic quantity was used. On the other hand, EtAlCl₂ produced polymers with comparatively broad MWDs (M_w/M_n ～ 2), although the polymerization was slightly retarded. The systems with a strong base required much less quantity of bases than weak base systems such as ethers or esters for living polymerization. The strong base system exhibited Lewis acid preference: living polymerization proceeded only with SnCl₄, TiCl₄, or ZnCl₂, whereas a range of Lewis acids are effective for achieving living polymerization in the conventional weak base system such as an ester and an ether. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 6746–6753, 2008     

Synthesis of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyacrylonitrile by anionic polymerization

The anionic polymerization of acrylonitrile in DMF initiated by lithium 1,2-bis(diethylamino)-2-oxoethanolate in the range ?60 to 0°C has been studied. The initiator efficiency at low temperatures (?60 to ?40°C) is 2–6%; it remains nearly invariable with conversion owing to the associated state of the initiator. The low concentration of growing active centers is constant throughout the process; as a result, polymers with M > 3 × 10⁵ are produced. The polymers are characterized by a narrow molecular-mass distribution, M _w/M _n = 1.3–1.6, and contain insignificant amounts of low-molecular-mass fractions. It has been shown that controlled polymerization processes can be carried outat moderately low temperatures (?30 to 0°C), and experimental conditions for freezing of polymerization and its recommencement have been ascertained. Optimum conditions for the synthesis of a high-molecular-mass polyacrylonitrile with M > 3 × 10⁵ have been established, and the method for preparing polymers with M = (6.50–8.5) × 10⁵ on an enlarged scale using high concentrations of the monomer has been developed.     

Cationic cyclopolymerization of divinyl ethers with norbornane‐, norbornene‐, or adamantane‐containing substituents: Synthesis of cyclopoly(divinyl ether)s with bulky rigid side chains leading to high glass transition temperature

Cationic cyclopolymerizations of 2,2‐bis(vinyloxymethyl)bicyclo[2.2.1]heptane ( 1 ), 5,5‐bis(vinyloxymethyl)‐2‐bicyclo[2.2.1]heptene ( 2 ), and 2,2‐bis(vinyloxymethyl)tricyclo[3.3.1.1]^{3, 7}decane ( 3 ), divinyl ethers with a norbornane, norbornene, or adamantane unit, respectively, were investigated with the HCl/ZnCl₂ initiating system in toluene and methylene chloride at ?30 °C. All the reactions proceeded quantitatively to give gel‐free, soluble polymers in organic solvents. The number‐average molecular weight (M_n) of the polymers increased in direct proportion to monomer conversion and further increased on addition of a fresh monomer feed to the almost completely polymerized reaction mixture. The contents of the unreacted vinyl groups in the produced soluble polymers were less than ～10 mol %, and therefore, the degree of cyclization of the polymers was determined to be over ～90%. These facts show that cyclopolymerization of 1 , 2 , and 3 exclusively occurred and the poly(vinyl ether)s with the cyclized repeating units and polycyclic pendants were obtained with their molecular weights being regulated. BF₃OEt₂ initiator also caused cyclopolymerization of 1 , 2 , and 3 to give the corresponding high‐molecular‐weight cyclopolymers quantitatively. Glass transition temperatures (T_g's) of poly( 1 ) and poly( 2 ) were 165–180 °C, and T_g's of poly( 3 ) were 211–231 °C; these values are very high as vinyl ether polymers. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013, 51, 2445–2454     

(Diisopropylamido) bis (methylcyclopentadienyl) lanthanides as single-component initiators for polymerization of methyl methacrylate

It was first found that (diisopropylamido)bis(methylcyclopentadienyl)lanthanides (MeC₅H₄)₂LnN(i-Pr)₂(THF) (Ln = Yb ( 1 ), Er ( 2 ), Y ( 3 )) exhibit extremely high catalytic activity in the polymerization of methyl methacrylate. The reactions can be carried out over a quite broad range of polymerization temperatures from -78 to 40°C. The catalytic activity of the complexes increases with an increase of ionic radii of the metal elements, i.e. Y > Er > Yb. The results of GPC (gel permeation chromatography) indicate that the number-average molecular weights (M_n) of polymers obtained exceed 100 × 10³ and the molecular weight distribution (M_w/M_n) becomes broad with the increase of temperature. Furthermore highly syndiotactic PMMA (87.7%) can be obtained by lowering the reaction temperature to −78°C. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 1593–1597, 1998     

Living ring‐opening polymerization based on neighboring group participation

Cationic ring‐opening polymerization of a five‐membered cyclic dithiocarbonate having benzoxymethyl group; 5‐benzoxymethyl‐1,3‐oxathiolane‐2‐thione, was carried out with TfOH or TfOMe as an initiator in PhCl at rt – 60 °C. The molecular weight distribution (M_w/M_n) of the polymer obtained with TfOMe was very narrow even at 60 °C (M_w/M_n 1.14), and the Mn value of the polymers estimated by GPC was in good agreement with the molecular weight determined from ¹H‐NMR. The living nature of the polymerization was confirmed by the conversion dependence of the Mn (M_w/M_n) and the correlation of the experimental and theoretical M_n (M_w/M_n) values.     

Star polymers by ATRP of styrene and acrylates employing multifunctional initiators

Multifunctional initiators for atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) are prepared by converting ditrimethylolpropane with four hydroxyl groups, dipentaerythritol with six hydroxyl groups, and poly(3‐ethyl‐3‐hydroxymethyl‐oxetane) with ～11 hydroxyl groups to the corresponding 2‐bromoisobutyrates or 2‐bromopropionates as obtained by reaction with acid bromides. Star polystyrene (PS) is produced by using these macroinitiators and neat styrene in a controlled manner by ATRP at 110 °C, employing the catalytic system CuBr and bipyridine. M_n up to 51,000 associated with narrow molecular weight distributions (PDI < 1.1) are obtained with conversions up to 32%. Hydrolysis of the star‐PS leads to linear chains having the expected M_n values. The star‐PS polymers based on dipentaerythritol degrade thermally in nitrogen in a two‐step process in which the first low‐temperature step involves scission of the ester linkages and the second step corresponds to the normal PS degradation. Star poly(methyl acrylates) with various cores are likewise prepared in a controlled manner by ATRP of methyl acrylate in bulk and in solution at 60–80 °C with the 1,1,4,7,7‐pentamethyldiethylene triamine ligand. Under these conditions, higher conversions were possible still maintaining low PDI signaling controlled star growth. Multiarm stars of poly(n‐butyl acrylate) and poly(n‐hexyl acrylate) with controlled characteristics have also been prepared. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 3748–3759, 2005     

Multifunctional coupling agents for living cationic polymerization. IV. Synthesis of end-functionalized multiarmed poly(vinyl ethers) with multifunctional silyl enol ethers

Telechelic ( 8 ) and end-functionalized four-arm star polymers ( 9 ) were synthesized through the coupling reactions of end-functionalized living poly(isobutyl vinyl ether) ( 5; DP _n ～ 10) with the bi-and tetrafunctional silyl enol ethers, H_4-nC? [CH₂OC₆H₄C(OSiMe₃) = CH₂]_n ( 3: n = 2; 4: n = 4). The precursor polymers 5 were prepared by living cationic polymerization with functionalized initiators, CH₃CH(Cl)OCH₂CH₂X(6), in conjunction with zinc chloride in methylene chloride at ?15°C. The initiators 6 were obtained by the addition of hydrogen chloride gas to vinyl ethers bearing pendant functional groups X , including acetoxy [? OC(O)CH₃], styryl (? OCH₂C₆H₄-p-CH = CH₂), and methacryloyl [? OC(O)C(CH₃) = CH₂]. The coupling reactions with 3 and 4 in methylene chloride at ?15°C for 24 h afforded the end-functionalized multiarmed polymers ( 8 and 9 ) in high yield (>91%), where those with styryl or methacryloyl groups are new multifunctional macromonomers. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Living cationic polymerization of isobutyl vinyl ether by EtAlCl2 in the presence of ether additives: Cyclic ethers,cyclic formals,and acyclic ethers with oxyethylene units

The living cationic polymerization of isobutyl vinyl ether (IBVE) was investigated in the presence of various cyclic and acyclic ethers with 1-(isobutoxy)ethyl acetate [CH₃CH(OiBu)OCOCH₃, 1 ]/EtAlCl₂ initiating system in hexane at 0°C. In particular, the effect of the basicity and steric hindrance of the ethers on the living nature and the polymerization rate was studied. The polymerization in the presence of a wide variety of cyclic ethers [tetrahydrofuran (THF), tetrahydropyran (THP), oxepane, 1,4-dioxane] and cyclic formals (1,3-dioxolane, 1,3-dioxane) gave living polymers with a very narrow molecular weight distribution (MWD) (M?_ω/M?_n ≤ 1.1). On the other hand, propylene oxide and oxetane additives resulted in no polymerization, whereas 1,3,5-trioxane gave the nonliving polymer with a broader MWD. The polymerization rates were dependent on the number of oxygen and ring sizes, which were related to the basicity and the steric hindrance. The order of the apparent polymerization rates in the presence of cyclic ether and formal additives was as follows: nonadditive ～ 1,3,5-trioxane ? 1,3-dioxane > 1,3-dioxolane ? 1,4-dioxane ? THP > oxepane ? THF ? oxetane, propylene oxide ? 0. The polymerization in the presence of the cyclic formals was much faster than that of the cyclic ethers: for example, the apparent propagation rate constant k in the presence of 1,3-dioxolane was 10³ times larger than that in the presence of THF. Another series of experiments showed that acyclic ethers with oxyethylene units were effective as additives for the living polymerization with 1 /EtAlCl₂ initiating system in hexane at 0°C. The polymers obtained in the presence of ethylene glycol diethyl ether and diethylene glycol diethyle ether had very narrow molecular weight distribution (M?_ω/M?_n ≤ 1.1), and the M?_n was directly proportional to the monomer conversion. The polymerization behavior was quite different in the polymerization rates and the MWD of the obtained polymers from that in the presence of diethyl ether. These results suggested the polydentate-type interaction or the alternate interaction of two or three ether oxygens in oxyethylene units with the propagating carbocation, to permit the living polymerization of IBVE. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.