Polymerization of 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl vinyl ether

The polymerization of 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl vinyl ether by six different catalyst systems was examined. Low-temperature studies (?78°C) with boron trifluoride etherate catalyst in hydrocarbon and chlorinated solvents slowly yielded low molecular weight polymers which were amorphous and noncrystallizable upon cold drawing. Under similar conditions, polymerizations with boron trifluoride gas were spontaneous, quantitative, and gave relatively high molecular weight, form-stable, amorphous polymer. Heterogeneous polymerizations with chromium trioxide crystals in toluene at 68°C and bulk reactions with ethylmagnesium bromide–carbon tetrachloride catalyst at 40°C failed to produce polymer. Room temperature runs with triisobutylaluminum–titanium tetrachloride catalyst gave amorphous, tacky material. Aluminum hexahydrosulfate heptahydrate (AHS) initiated polymerizations conducted at 25 and 60°C gave low yields of mixtures of amorphous and crystalline polymers, the ratio depending upon the polymerization solvent employed. The infrared spectra and x-ray diffraction intensity curves of crystalline and amorphous poly(trifluoroethyl vinyl ether) are reported and compared herein for the first time.     

Organometallic polymers. XXV. Preparation of polyvinylferrocene

The synthetic details of solution polymerization in benzene and bulk polymerization of vinylferrocene are reported. In benzene solutions, with azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as the initiator, small yields of low-polydispersity low molecular weight (M?_n ? 5000) polyvinylferrocene is obtained. However, high yields can be obtained by continuous or multiple AIBN addition. Higher molecular weight polymers and binodal polymers can be obtained as the monomer concentration is increased. In bulk polymerizations, yields of 80% can be obtained. The molecular weight increases as temperature decreases from 80 to 60°C in bulk polymerizations, and an increasing amount of insoluble polymer results. The soluble portion is often binodal, the higher molecular weight node consisting of an increasingly branched structure. Lower molecular weight polymer was readily fractionated into narrow fractions from benzene–methanol systems, but higher molecular weight polymer proved impossible to fractionate into narrow fractions due to branching.     

Anionic graft polymerization and homopolymerization of phenyl glycidyl ether

Phenyl glycidyl ether was found to react with potassium starch alkoxide in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) to give graft polymers in almost quantitative yields, both the monomer and the starch being incorporated completely into the graft polymer. No transfer reactions to monomer or solvent leading to homopolymerization was found. For this reason this system was used as a model for the study of the rate of the graft polymerization of alkylene oxides on starch and other carbohydrates. Comparison of the rates of the graft polymerization of phenyl glycidyl ether on starch alkoxide with that of the homopolymerization by potassium naphthalene in DMSO under comparable conditions showed that the former reaction was much slower. Rates of the graft polymerizations on dextrin and sucrose under comparable conditions, were similar to those obtained with starch. On the other hand, the rates of polymerization on poly(ethylene oxide) alkoxides of different molecular weights were similar to those obtained in the corresponding homopolymerization by potassium naphthalene, showing that neither the molecular weight of the initiator nor the viscosity of the reaction medium were the governing factors. This suggested that the lower rates obtained by using the carbohydrate alkoxides as initiators were connected with the heterogeneity of these reaction systems, the polymeric alkoxide being insoluble in DMSO. The systematic study carried out on the homopolymerization by potassium naphthalene in DMSO showed that the effective initiator was dimsyl anion obtained by interaction of potassium naphthalene with DMSO. The reaction was bimolecular, being first order to monomer and to initiator. The molecular weights increased with increasing monomer concentration and decreasing catalyst concentration, in accordance with a “living” polymerization system.     

N‐Bromosuccinimide as a thermal iniferter for radical polymerization

N‐Bromosuccinimide (NBS) was used as a thermal iniferter for the initiation of the bulk polymerizations of methyl methacrylate, methyl acrylate, and styrene. The polymerizations showed the characteristics of a living polymerization: both the yields and the molecular weights of the resultant polymers increased linearly as the reaction time increased. The molecular weight distributions of the polymers were 1.42–1.95 under the studied conditions. The resultant polymers could be used as macroiniferters to reinitiate the polymerization of the second monomer. The copolymers poly(methyl methacrylate)‐b‐polystyrene and polystyrene‐b‐poly(methyl methacrylate) were obtained and characterized. End‐group analysis of the resultant poly(methyl methacrylate), poly(methyl acrylate), and polystyrene confirmed that NBS behaved as a thermal iniferter. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 2567–2573, 2005     

α-蒎烯、β-蒎烯、苧烯阳离子聚合的研究

比较了萜烯单体α 蒎烯、β 蒎烯、烯的阳离子聚合性能，还考察了这三种单体的活性聚合可能性．在Ｌｅｗｉｓ酸ＡｌＣｌ３作用下，聚合速率大小顺序为：β 蒎烯＞烯＞α 蒎烯．α 蒎烯、烯的聚合产物分子量较低；β 蒎烯的聚合产物分子量较高．ＡｌＣｌ３与ＳｂＣｌ３复合后，α 蒎烯、烯的聚合速率增加，β 蒎烯的聚合速率反而下降．α 蒎烯的聚合速率增加幅度大于烯，使得前者聚合速率高于后者．与使用ＡｌＣｌ３相比，添加ＳｂＣｌ３后产物的分子量变化是：α 蒎烯变大，烯不变，β 蒎烯则变小．添加ＳｂＣｌ３对β 蒎烯、烯的聚合物结构无影响，而α 蒎烯聚合产物的结构则发生显著变化．活性较高的β 蒎烯在适当的引发体系，如苯乙烯 ＨＣｌ加成物／ＴｉＣｌ３（ＯｉＰｒ）作用下，可以实现活性聚合．α 蒎烯、烯则由于本身单体活性太小，难以实现活性聚合．     

Bulk polymerization of α-chloroacrylonitrile

Poly-α-chloroacrylonitrile, which may be regarded as a hybrid of poly(vinyl chloride) and polyacrylonitrile, is, like these polymers, insoluble in its own monomer. Its bulk polymerization is thus heterogeneous, showing abnormal kinetic features by comparison with homogeneous polymerizations. The polymerization exhibits autocatalytic properties. The initiator exponents at 0 and 5% polymerization are 0.45 and 0.44, respectively, and the overall energy of activation is 23.0 ± 2 Kcal./mole. There is no significant change in molecular weight with catalyst concentration in the range 0.057–0.90% nor with conversion up to 12%, but the reaction is accelerated by addition of polymer. Bulk polymerization results in colored products, the color deepening with conversion. These results have been compared with those of Bamford and Jenkins for acrylonitrile and Bengough and Norrish for vinyl chloride and are found to be in closer accord with the latter. They can be accounted for satisfactorily by Bengough and Norrish's suggestion that transfer occurs between growing polymer radicals and dead polymer molecules, the radicals thus formed on the surface of the polymer being removed by transfer to monomer.     

On the formation of narrowly polydispersed PMMA by surface initiated polymerization (SIP) from AIBN-coated/intercalated clay nanoparticle platelets

Various free radical surface initiated polymerization (SIP) conditions were investigated on clay nanoparticles coated with monocationic 2,2'-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) type free radical initiators. Interesting differences in the mechanism of polymer nanocomposite product formation and the role of nanoparticle surface bound AIBN initiators were observed on three types of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) polymerization conditions: bulk, suspension, and solution. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements confirmed the attachment of the initiator on the clay particles without decomposition of the azo group. XRD and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that a well-dispersed structure was accomplished only by bulk and solution SIP. The suspension SIP product consisted of a partially exfoliated structure as shown by XRD and clay particle aggregate formation as shown by TEM. In general, the molecular weights (MWs) of the surface bound polymers were found to be lower than those of the free polymer. Using the same clay loading and initiator concentrations, we observed that relatively higher MW polymers were obtained from suspension and bulk polymerizations in contrast to solution method. However, the most interesting observation is that the surface bound polymers (on all three conditions) showed much narrower polydispersity compared to that of a typical AIBN type free radical polymerization.     

Self‐polyaddition of hydroxyalkyl vinyl ethers

With tetrahydrofuran as a solvent and pyridium p‐toluenesulfonate as a catalyst, the hydroxyalkyl vinyl ethers 2‐hydroxyethyl vinyl ether (2E), 4‐hydroxybutyl vinyl ether (4B), and 6‐hydroxyhexyl vinyl ether (6H) underwent step‐growth self‐polyaddition, generating polymers with an acetal main‐chain structure. The molecular weight of the resulting polymers increased gradually during the initial polymerization period at room temperature. However, decomposition occurred after about 22–24 h, and the presence of a large amount of catalyst accelerated the latter process. The three monomers exhibited different polymerization capabilities. In contrast to the smooth polymerization of 6H, cyclization side reactions usually took place during the polymerizations of 4B and 2E, which resulted in low polymer yields and low molecular weights because of the formation of unreactive small cyclic acetals. In the self‐polyaddition of 4B, this side reaction was greatly restricted at high concentrations of the monomer. Higher temperatures (60–70 °C) remarkably accelerated the self‐polyaddition process to produce polymers with high molecular weights. However, the polymerizations at high temperatures had to be terminated within about 2 h to avoid the severe decomposition of the polymers. Copolymers were also obtained via the copolyaddition of any two of the monomers. The easiness of the incorporation of the monomers into the copolymers was in the sequence 6H > 4B > 2E. Poly(6H), poly(4B), poly(2E), and the copolymers possessed different hydrophilicities and were stable in basic, neutral, and even weak acidic media but exhibited degradation in the presence of a strong acid. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 3751–3760, 2000     

Stereoselective ring-opening polymerization of racemic lactide using aluminum-achiral ligand complexes: exploration of a chain-end control mechanism

Stereoselective polymerization of racemic lactide (rac-LA) was examined using Al-achiral ligand complexes. By introduction of substituents in aromatic rings of Schiff base ligands, a higher selectivity was obtained without any chiral auxiliaries in the catalyst via a chain-end control mechanism. The T(m) values (T(m) 170-192 degrees C) were comparable to or higher than that of homochiral polymer, poly(L-LA) (T(m) 162 degrees C), and a thermally more stable polylactide than poly(L-LA) was prepared from rac-LA.     

Mechanically Initiated Bulk‐Scale Free‐Radical Polymerization

Mechanical initiation of polymerization offers the chance to generate polymers in new environments using an energy source with unique capabilities. Recently, a renewed interest in mechanically controlled polymerization has yielded many techniques for controlled radical polymerization by ultrasound. However, other types of polymerizations induced by mechanical activation are rare, especially for generating high‐molecular‐weight polymers. Herein is an example of using piezoelectric ZnO nanoparticles to generate free‐radical species that initiate chain‐growth polymerization and polymer crosslinking. The fast generation of high amounts of reactive radicals enable the formation of polymer/gel by ultrasound activation. This chemistry can be used to harness mechanical energy for constructive purposes in polymeric materials and for controlled polymerizations for bulk‐scale reactions.     

Lanthanoid isopropoxide as a novel initiator for anionic polymerization of isocyanates

Lanthanum isopropoxide was found to serve as a novel anionic initiator for the polymerization of hexyl isocyanate affording poly(hexyl isocyanate) with very high molecular weight (M _n > 10⁶) under appropriate conditions. Other lanthanoid alkoxides, such as samarium, ytterbium and yttrium isopropoxides, also brought about the polymerization of hexyl isocyanate. Butyl, isobutyl, octyl and m-tolyl isocyanates also underwent the polymerization reaction to form the corresponding polymers by using lanthanum isopropoxide as initiator, while polymerizations of tert-butyl and cyclohexyl isocyanates with lanthanum isopropoxide did not occur under identical conditions.     

THE ATOM TRANSFER RADICAL POLYMERIZATION OF LAURYL ACRYLATE

The atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of dodecyl (or lauryl) acrylate (LA) has been studied and optimized to yield polymers with predetermined molecular weights and low polydispersities. The poor solubility of the catalyst complex formed with linear tridentate amines and Cu(I)Br in both LA and the non-polar solvents required for the formed poly(lauryl acrylate) (pLA) resulted in poor control of the polymer molecular weights and high polydispersity. The use of a soluble catalyst formed by complexing copper with 4,4′-di(5-nonyl)-2,2′-bipyridine, improved both molecular weight control and polydispersities. The experimental conditions were further optimized by adding deactivating Cu(II) complex to the initial reaction mixture to compensate qualitatively for differences in the rate of termination relative to other acrylates.     

Synthesis of star‐shaped poly(D,L‐lactic acid‐alt‐glycolic acid)‐b‐poly(L‐lactic acid) with the poly(D,L‐lactic acid‐alt‐glycolic acid) macroinitiator and stannous octoate catalyst

Two types of three‐arm and four‐arm, star‐shaped poly(D,L ‐lactic acid‐alt‐glycolic acid)‐b‐poly(L ‐lactic acid) (D,L ‐PLGA50‐b‐PLLA) were successfully synthesized via the sequential ring‐opening polymerization of D,L ‐3‐methylglycolide (MG) and L ‐lactide (L ‐LA) with a multifunctional initiator, such as trimethylolpropane and pentaerythritol, and stannous octoate (SnOct₂) as a catalyst. Star‐shaped, hydroxy‐terminated poly(D,L ‐lactic acid‐alt‐glycolic acid) (D,L ‐PLGA50) obtained from the polymerization of MG was used as a macroinitiator to initiate the block polymerization of L ‐LA with the SnOct₂ catalyst in bulk at 130 °C. For the polymerization of L ‐LA with the three‐arm, star‐shaped D,L ‐PLGA50 macroinitiator (number‐average molecular weight = 6800) and the SnOct₂ catalyst, the molecular weight of the resulting D,L ‐PLGA50‐b‐PLLA polymer linearly increased from 12,600 to 27,400 with the increasing molar ratio (1:1 to 3:1) of L ‐LA to MG, and the molecular weight distribution was rather narrow (weight‐average molecular weight/number‐average molecular weight = 1.09–1.15). The ¹H NMR spectrum of the D,L ‐PLGA50‐b‐PLLA block copolymer showed that the molecular weight and unit composition of the block copolymer were controlled by the molar ratio of L ‐LA to the macroinitiator. The ¹³C NMR spectrum of the block copolymer clearly showed its diblock structures, that is, D,L ‐PLGA50 as the first block and poly(L ‐lactic acid) as the second block. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 409–415, 2002     

Horseradish peroxidase-catalyzed polymerization of<Emphasis Type="Italic"> p</Emphasis>-hydroxycinnamic acid for synthesis of reactive microspheres

In this article, we report the experimental synthesis of reactive polymer microspheres of poly(p-hydroxycinnamic acid). Enzyme-catalyzed polymerization of poly(p-hydroxycinnamic acid) using horseradish peroxidase as a catalyst and hydrogen peroxide as an oxidant took place in a mixture solution of methanol and phosphate buffer solution; it was found that the fraction of methanol in the mixture solution strongly affected the yield of powdery polymer materials. The chemical structure of the polymers was characterized by ¹H-NMR and FT-IR spectroscopies, and the molecular weight was measured by gel permeation chromatography. The ¹H-NMR chart of the obtained polymer was almost the same as that of the monomer; FT-IR spectra indicated the existence of carboxyl groups. The weight-average molecular weight of the soluble part in tetrahydrofuran was found to be 1,451. Dispersion polymerization of p-hydroxycinnamic acid was carried out in a mixture solution of methanol and phosphate buffer solution by adding a dispersion stabilizer. Of the several such polymers tested, poly(vinyl alcohol) was found to be the most effective in producing reactive poly(p-hydroxycinnamic acid) microspheres.     

Atom transfer radical polymerization of 1-phenoxycarbonyl ethyl methacrylate monomer

Atom transfer radical polymerization conditions with copper(I) bromide/2,2^′-bipyridine (Cu/2,2^′-bpy) as the catalyst system were employed for the homopolymerization and random copolymerization of 1-phenoxycarbonyl ethyl methacrylate (PCMA) with methyl methacrylate (MMA). Temperature studies indicated that the polymerizations occurred smoothly in bulk at 110 °C. Poly(PCMA)(polydispersity index=1.27) homopolymer was characterized and then used as macroinitiator for increasing its molecular weight. The homopolymerization of PCMA was also carried out under free radical conditions using 2,2^′-azobisisobutyronitrile as an initiator.The monomer and polymers were characterized by FT-IR and ¹H and ¹³C-NMR techniques. The glass transition temperatures, the solubility parameters and average-molecular weights of the polymers were determined. Thermal stabilities of the polymers were given as compared with each other by using TGA curves. Thermal degradation products of poly(PCMA)s obtained by ATRP and free radical polymerization were compared with each other by using ¹H-NMR technique.     

Photo-controlled/living radical polymerization mediated by 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl in inert atmospheres

The photo-controlled/living radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate using a nitroxide mediator was established in an inert atmosphere. The bulk polymerization was performed at room temperature using 4-methoxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl as the mediator and (2RS,2′RS)-azobis(4-methoxy-2,4-dimethylvaleronitrile) as the initiator in the presence of (4-tert-butylphenyl)diphenylsulfonium triflate as the accelerator by irradiation with a high-pressure mercury lamp. The photopolymerization in a N₂ atmosphere produced a polymer with a comparatively narrow molecular weight distribution; however, the experimental molecular weight was slightly different from the theoretical molecular weight. The Ar atmospheric polymerization also provided a polymer with the molecular weight distribution similar to that of the polymer obtained by the N₂ atmospheric polymerization. These inert atmospheric polymerizations more rapidly proceeded to produce polymers with narrower molecular weight distributions than the vacuum polymerization. The livingness of the Ar atmospheric polymerization was confirmed on the basis of the first-order time–conversion plots and conversion–molecular weight plots.     

Novel propylmethacrylate-monofunctionalized polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes homopolymers prepared via radical bulk free polymerization

Novel propylmethacrylate-monofunctionalized polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS-PMA) homopolymers were obtained, in good yield, by free bulk radical polymerizations of the low melting macromer heptaisobutylpentacyclooctasiloxan-1-(yl)propylmethacrylate [(PMA)(i-Bu)₇T₈], 1, by using different initiator/macromer molar ratios. Their characterization was accomplished by TG, DTG and DSC analyses, Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. The results indicate that both macromolecular as well as the thermal properties of the new materials are dependent on the initiator/macromer molar ratio used in the polymerization process. By increasing the amount of initiator, polymers with lowest molecular masses, highest molecular weight distributions (MWD) and lowest thermal stability were obtained. High value of MWD was found for all the samples. The different thermal behavior observed for the sample prepared by using the highest amount of initiator is explained by the formation of polymer branched chain, induced by chain transfer to polymer processes. MALDI-TOF mass spectra resulted diagnostic of the homopolymers compositions displaying a series of peaks corresponding to oligomeric structures present in the polymeric samples. The thermal polymerization of 1 performed without employing catalyst was also investigated. Only low yields (4%) of short oligomers (from dimer to pentamer), bearing degraded POSS cages, were isolated.     

Living Polymerization of Lactide Using Titanium Alkoxide Catalysts

Several titanium isopropoxides have facilitated the ring opening polymerization of l-lactide (LA) and rac-lactide in toluene solution at various polymerization temperatures via a coordination insertion mechanism. Depending on catalysts, the controlled/living poly(l-lactide), or the heterotactic-biased poly(rac-lactide) were obtained. The stereochemical microstructure of polylactide (PLA) was determined from homonuclear decoupled ¹H NMR spectral studies. Such spectra of PLA derived from rac-LA featured the characteristic five-methine resonance pattern, whereas corresponding spectra derived from l-LA exhibited only one methine peak.     

(RO)(2)Ta[tris(2-oxy-3,5-dimethylbenzyl)amine]: structure and lactide polymerization activities

The novel atrane-like six-coordinate (RO)(2)TaL complexes [where R = Me or Et and L = tris(2-oxy-3,5-dimethylbenzyl)amine] containing three six-membered rings have been synthesized and characterized. The R = Me complex is the first group 5 representative of this class of compounds structurally characterized by X-ray means. Somewhat surprisingly, these compounds failed to function as single-site initiators for the polymerization of l-LA to isotactic PLA and rac-LA to atactic PLA, whereas Ta(OEt)(5) and two titanium analogues ROTiL (where R = 2,6-di-i-PrC(6)H(3) and i-Pr) as well as Ti(O-i-Pr)(4) were effective catalysts for both polymerizations.     

Synthesis,crystallization, and morphology of star‐shaped poly(ε‐caprolactone)

Six‐arm star‐shaped poly(ε‐caprolactone) (sPCL) was successfully synthesized via the ring‐opening polymerization of ε‐caprolactone with a commercial dipentaerythritol as the initiator and stannous octoate (SnOct₂) as the catalyst in bulk at 120 °C. The effects of the molar ratios of both the monomer to the initiator and the monomer to the catalyst on the molecular weight of the polymer were investigated in detail. The molecular weight of the polymer linearly increased with the molar ratio of the monomer to the initiator, and the molecular weight distribution was very low (weight‐average molecular weight/number‐average molecular weight = 1.05–1.24). However, the molar ratio of the monomer to the catalyst had no apparent influence on the molecular weight of the polymer. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis indicated that the maximal melting point, cold crystallization temperature, and degree of crystallinity of the sPCL polymers increased with increasing molecular weight, and crystallinities of different sizes and imperfect crystallization possibly did not exist in the sPCL polymers. Furthermore, polarized optical microscopy analysis indicated that the crystallization rate of the polymers was in the order of linear poly(ε‐caprolactone) (LPCL) > sPCL5 > sPCL1 (sPCL5 had a higher molecular weight than both sPCL1 and LPCL, which had similar molecular weights). Both LPCL and sPCL5 exhibited a good spherulitic morphology with apparent Maltese cross patterns, whereas sPCL1 showed a poor spherulitic morphology. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 5449–5457, 2005