Stereocontrol in the free‐radical polymerization of methacrylates with fluoroalcohols

The free‐radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA), ethyl methacrylate (EMA), isopropyl methacrylate (IPMA), and tert‐butyl methacrylate (t‐BuMA) was carried out under various conditions to achieve stereoregulation. In the MMA polymerization, syndiotactic specificity was enhanced by the use of fluoroalcohols, including (CF₃)₃COH as a solvent or an additive. The polymerization of MMA in (CF₃)₃COH at −98 °C achieved the highest syndiotacticity (rr = 93%) for the radical polymerization of methacrylates. Similar effects of fluoroalcohols enhancing syndiotactic specificity were also observed in the polymerization of EMA, whereas the effect was negligible in the IPMA polymerization. In contrast to the polymerizations of MMA and EMA, syndiotactic specificity was decreased by the use of (CF₃)₃COH in the t‐BuMA polymerization. The stereoeffects of fluoroalcohols seemed to be due to the hydrogen‐bonding interaction of the alcohols with monomers and growing species. The interaction was confirmed by NMR measurements. In addition, in the bulk polymerization of MMA at −78 °C, syndiotactic specificity and polymer yield increased even in the presence of a small amount {[(CF₃)₃COH]/[MMA]_o < 1} of (CF₃)₃COH. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 4693–4703, 2000     

Free-radical polymerization of vinyl esters using fluoroalcohols as solvents: Effect of monomer structure on stereochemistry

Free-radical polymerization of vinyl esters including vinyl propionate (VPr), vinyl isobutylate (ViBu), vinyl 2,2-dimethylbutylate (VDMB), vinyl 2,2-dimethylvalerate (VDMV), vinyl 2,2-bis(trifluoromethyl)propionate (VF6Pi), and vinyl benzoate (VBz) was carried out using fluoroalcohols as solvents, and the tacticity of the obtained polymers was determined by NMR analysis of the produced poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). The polymerization of VPr, ViBu, VDMB, and VDMV, which are bulkier than VAc, in fluoroalcohols afforded polymers rich in heterotacticity (up to mr = 61%) similar to that of vinyl pivalate (VPi) whereas VAc is known to give a syndiotactic polymer under the reaction conditions used here. The polymerization of VF6Pi, which is the bulkiest among the monomers used in this study, gave a polymer rich in syndiotacticity in bulk and in fluoroalcohols regardless of the structure of the solvents. On the other hand, the polymerization of VBz in fluoroalcohols gave polymers with a higher isotacticity (up to mm = 33%) than bulk polymerization. Thus the monomer structure strongly affected the stereochemistry of the free-radical polymerization of vinyl esters in fluoroalcohols. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 2677–2683, 1999     

Dual roles of alkyl alcohols as syndiotactic‐specificity inducers and accelerators in the radical polymerization of N‐isopropylacrylamide and some properties of syndiotactic poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide)

The effects of simple alkyl alcohols on the radical polymerization of N‐isopropylacrylamide in toluene at low temperatures were investigated. We succeeded in the induction of syndiotactic specificity and the acceleration of polymerization reactions at the same time by adding simple alkyl alcohols such as 3‐methyl‐3‐pentanol (3Me3PenOH) to N‐isopropylacrylamide polymerizations. The dyad syndiotacticity increased with a decrease in the temperature and an increase in the bulkiness of the added alcohol and reached up to 71% at ?60 °C in the presence of 3Me3PenOH. With the assistance of NMR analysis, it was revealed that the alcohol compounds played dual roles in this polymerization system; an alcohol compound coordinating to the N? H proton induced syndiotactic specificity, and that hydrogen‐bonded to the C?O oxygen accelerated the polymerization reaction. The effect of syndiotacticity on the properties of poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide)s was also examined in some detail. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 4450–4460, 2006     

Action of N-hydroxyphthalimide on chain stereoregularity in the radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate

N-Hydroxyphthalimide (NHPI) has a dual function in the radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA): this compound acts as an initiator and also provides for stereochemical control of the polymer chain. Lowering the polymerization temperature leads to increased syndiotactic specificity in the polymethyl methacrylate molecule. The action of NHPI as an initiator and stereoregulator is attributed to the capacity of this compound to form a hydrogen bond with the monomer molecule and growing macroradical.     

Influence of the polymerization temperature on the stereoregularity of radical poly(phenyl methacrylate)

The dependence of the tacticity of radical poly(phenyl methacrylate) upon polymerization temperature has been examined by NMR spectroscopy. Bernouillian statistics were confirmed for polymerization temperatures between 30 and 80°, but slight deviation was found for elevated temperatures (100°). The calculated values of differential enthalpies and entropies of activation for isotactic and syndiotactic propagations revealed that poly(methyl methacrylate) radicals grow more easily in syndiotactic placement than poly(phenyl methacrylate) radicals.     

A ternary initiating system for free-radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate

The effect of a benzoyl peroxide-ferrocene-3,6-bis(o-carboxybenzoyl)-N-isopropylcarbazole three-component initiating system on the free-radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate has been investigated. For this process, concentration and temperature dependences of the initial rate of reaction and the average degree of polymerization have been measured. It has been established that, when the process is carried out in the presence of both ferrocene and a carbazole derivative, the former compound predominantly affects the kinetic parameters and the average degree of polymerization. The effect of the nitrogen-containing compound comes into play as the temperature of polymerization is lowered. Poly(methyl methacrylate) prepared in the presence of the ternary system is distinguished by an increased content of syndiotactic units and by the presence of isotactic structures, thus suggesting the complex-radical mechanism of polymerization.     

Syndiotactic‐specific radical polymerization of N,N‐dimethylacrylamide in the presence of tartrates: A proposed mechanism for the polymerization

Radical polymerization of N,N‐dimethylacrylamide (DMAAm) was investigated in the presence of tartrates, such as diethyl L ‐tartrate, diisopropyl L ‐tartrate, and di‐n‐butyl L ‐tartrate, in toluene at low temperatures. Syndiotactic polymers were obtained in the presence of tartrates, whereas isotactic polymers were obtained in the absence of tartrates. The syndiotactic‐specificity increased with increasing amount of tartrates and with decreasing polymerization temperature. NMR analysis suggested that DMAAm and tartrates formed a 1:1 complex through double hydrogen bonding. A mechanism for the syndiotactic‐specific radical polymerization of DMAAm is proposed. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 1192–1203, 2009     

Copolymerization parameters of methyl methacrylate and acrylic acid

The relative reactivity of acrylic acid is known to be influenced by the polymerization medium. Nonetheless, the more commonly used reactivity ratios do not show this dependence because they were calculated from low-conversion polymerizations. We have studied the copolymerization of acrylic acid and methyl methacrylate in a number of non-hydrogen-bonding and hydrogen-bonding solvents. We found that the acrylic acid fraction in the copolymer was larger when copolymerized in a non-hydrogen-bonding medium and that the methyl methacrylate fraction was larger when copolymerized in a hydrogen-bonding medium. The precise reactivity ratios were reported when toluene, benzene, isopentyl, acetate, ethyl acetate, methyl formate, and tert-butyl alcohol were used as the polymerization medium. The values were obtained by chromatographic analysis of residual monomer, followed by computation based on the nonlinear, least-squares technique of Tidwell and Mortimer.     

The Relationship of Reaction Temperature,Tg and Rich‐Syndiotacticity of Poly(alkyl methacrylate)s in Modified Microemulsion Polymerization

Nanoscale poly(alkyl methacrylate)s including poly(methyl methacrylate), poly(ethyl methacrylate), poly(cyclohexyl methacrylate), poly(iso‐butyl methacrylate) and poly(benzyl methacrylate) were prepared by a modified microemulsion polymerization procedure. NMR analysis suggested that these poly(methacrylate)s samples were higher in syndiotactic content, lower in isotactic content and the glass transition temperatures (T_gs) of them were also higher than those reported in the literature. The tacticities of the poly(methacrylate)s, beside the restricted volume effect of nanoparticles during the modified microemulsion polymerization, were mainly influenced by the reaction temperature, the lower the reaction temperature, the higher the syndiotacticity of the products. The syndiotacticity of the product decreased obviously when the polymerization was carried out at a temperature far above the T_g of the resulting polymer. It was also shown that the tacticity of the polymer was affected by the monomer structure, a monomer with the bulkier alkyl side group would liable to result in a polymer with richer syndiotacticity. Possible mechanism of rich‐syndiotacticity was also discussed.     

Hydrogen‐bond‐assisted stereocontrol in the radical polymerization of N‐isopropylacrylamide with secondary alkyl phosphate: The effect of the bulkiness of the ester group

The radical polymerization of N‐isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) in toluene at low temperatures was investigated in the presence of triisopropyl phosphate (TiPP). The addition of TiPP induced a syndiotactic specificity that was enhanced by the polymerization temperature being lowered, whereas atactic polymers were obtained in the absence of TiPP, regardless of the temperature. Syndiotactic‐rich poly(NIPAAm) with a racemo dyad content of 65% was obtained at ?60 °C with a fourfold amount of TiPP, but almost atactic poly(NIPAAm)s were obtained by the temperature being lowered to ?80 °C. This result contrasted with the result in the presence of primary alkyl phosphates, such as tri‐n‐propyl phosphate: the stereospecificity varied from syndiotactic to isotactic as the polymerization temperature was lowered. NMR analysis at ?80 °C revealed that TiPP predominantly formed a 1:1 complex with NIPAAm, although primary alkyl phosphates preferentially formed a 1:2 complex with NIPAAm. Thus, it was concluded that a slight increase in the bulkiness of the added phosphates influenced the stoichiometry of the NIPAAm–phosphate complex at lower temperatures, and consequently a drastic change in the effect on the stereospecificity of NIPAAm polymerization was observed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 3899–3908, 2005     

Stereoregularity of poly(methyl methacrylate) prepared by aqueous polymerization and catalyzed by corundum

The aqueous polymerization of methyl methacrylate was carried out in the absence and in presence of corundum or carborundum at 25 and 80°C. In the absence of corundum and carborundum, it has been found that rising the polymerization temperature from 25 to 80°C resulted in changing the tacticity of the obtained polymers. At 25°C the isotactic triad was 26% while the heterotactic triad was 33.5% and the syndiotactic one was 40.5%. Increasing the polymerization temperature to 80°C resulted in a decrease of the isotactic structure to 0% and increased the heterotactic structure and syndiotactic structure to 48 and 52% respectively. Polymerizing at 25°C in presence of corundum (0.5 g) an increase in the syndiotactic triad took place from 40.5 to 50.7% while the isotactic triad decreased from 26 to 22.2% and the heterotactic structure decreased from 33.5 to 27%. Raising the polymerization temperature to 80°C in the presence of the same amount of corundum resulted in an increase in both the isotactic and heterotactic triads to 35 and 32.7%, respectively. Polymerizing at 80°C in presence of corundum (0.5 g) resulted in nearly an equal percentage of each triad 33%.     

Chain-transfer constant of fluoroalcohols

Chain transfer constants of some fluoroalcohols [HCF₂(CF₂)_n?1CH₂OH, n = 2, 4, 6] in the catalyzed polymerization of vinyl acetate, styrene, acrylonitrile, and methyl methacrylate at 60°C have been evaluated by a method based on degree of polymerization. Since fluoroalcohols are normally nonsolvents for polymers, a homogeneous reaction phase is maintained by carrying out the polymerization in benzene (except in case of acrylonitrile, where no solvent was used). The transfer constants vary, depending on the reactivity as well as the polarity of the radicals, in the following order: vinyl acetate > styrene > methyl methacrylate > acrylonitrile. Of the three fluoroalcohols studied, the transfer constants increase with the increasing value of n. The results have been interpreted in terms of polar structure contribution in the transition state of the transfer reactions.     

Nd(O-i-Pr)_3-Al(i-Bu)_3配位催化甲基丙烯酸甲酯聚合反应的研究

Ｎｄ（Ｏ ｉ Ｐｒ）３ Ａｌ（ｉ Ｂｕ）３配位催化甲基丙烯酸甲酯聚合反应的研究孙俊全（浙江大学高分子科学与工程系杭州３１００２７）（中国科学院长春应化所稀土化学与物理开放实验室长春１３００２２）关键词聚合反应，配位聚合，稀土催化剂，甲基丙烯酸甲酯，...     

Nd(O-i-Pr)3-Al(i-Bu)3配位催化甲基丙烯酸甲酯聚合反应的研究

甲基丙烯酸甲酯(MMA)能以自由基引发聚合,也能以格氏试剂、烷基锂或烷基铝引发阴离子聚合[1].六十年代来,ABE等人研究了Ti、V、Cr、Co、Mn等的Ziegler-Natta催化剂的催化聚合反应,提高聚合物的规整性[2].近年来出现了稀土配位催化聚合MMA及其它丙烯酸酯的报道[2～7],但较少有Nd(O-i-Pr)3配位催化MMA聚合的报道.     

Complexing effect of N-hydroxyphthalimides in the stereospecific polymerization of methyl methacrylate

A study was carried out on the effect of both the temperature of the reaction medium and structure of the initiator (N-hydroxyphthalimides) on the tacticity of the polymethyl methacrylate obtained under radical polymerization conditions. An increase in the amount of hydroxyl groups in the N-hydroxyphthalimide (NHPI) molecule leads to an increase in syndiotactic sequences in the macromolecule. The Fordham equation was used to calculate the differences in the activation enthalpies and entropies for addition in the iso and syndio positions in the presence of various N-hydroxyphthalimides. In all cases, formation of a syndiotactic polymer is favored.     

Synthesis of syndiotactic-polystyrene-graft-poly(methyl methacrylate) and syndiotactic-polystyrene-graft-atactic-polystyrene by atom transfer radical polymerization

Syndiotactic polystyrene graft copolymers, including syndiotactic-polystyrene-graft-poly(methyl methacrylate) and syndiotactic-polystyrene-graft-atactic-polystyrene, were synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) using bromoacetylated syndiotactic polystyrene as macroinitiator and copper bromide combined with 2,2′-bipyridine as catalyst. The macroinitiator was prepared from the acid-catalyzed halogenation reaction of partially acetylated syndiotactic polystyrene, which was synthesized in a heterogeneous process with acetyl chloride and anhydrous aluminum chloride in carbon disulfide. The graft copolymers were characterized by ¹H- and ¹³C-NMR spectra.     

聚合温度对聚甲基丙烯酸三丁基锡酯等规度的影响(Ⅰ)

本文测定了0—130℃温度范围内,由~(60)Co-γ射线和两种活性不同的引发剂引发聚合的聚甲基丙烯酸三丁基锡酯的等规度。利用~(13)C-NMR测定聚合物分子链的等规度,如预料的那样,以间同立构为主,并随着聚合温度的升高间同立构等规度降低。作者认为影响聚合物等规度的因素主要是取代基的极性效应。计算出的控制等规度的活化能参数与聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯和聚甲基丙烯酸三甲基锡酯的属同一数量级,可相互比较。     

Radical polymerizations and copolymerizations of dimethylstannyl dimethacrylate and trimethylstannyl methacrylate

The radical polymerizations and copolymerizations of dimethylstannyl dimethacrylate (DSM) and trimethylstannyl methacrylate (TSM) in dimethylformamide (DMF) were studied. These monomers did not polymerize thermally, but easily underwent polymerization in the presence of α,α′-azobisisobutyronitrile and on irradiation with ultraviolet light. The polymer obtained from TSM was soluble in DMF and methanol, but that from DSM was insoluble in any organic solvents; this polymer probably consists of a network structure. These polymers were converted to poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) by means of acid hydrolysis and then methylation with diazomethane. The content of syndiotactic triad was determined from infrared spectra of PMMA derived from the polymers of DSM and TSM. It was noted that the content of syndiotactic triad was greater in the radical polymerization of TSM than those of DSM at every temperature investigated. The differences in the activation enthalpy (ΔΔH?) and in the activation entropy (ΔΔS?) between isotactic and syndiotactic additions were determined as follows: for DSM, ΔΔH? = ～0 cal/mole, ΔΔS? = ?0.856 eu; for TSM, ΔΔH? = 229 cal/mole, ΔΔ = ?1.09 eu. From the radical copolymerizations of DSM and TSM with styrene at 60°C, the copolymerization parameters, Q and e, were evaluated as follows: for DSM, Q = 1.36, e = 0.41; for TSM, Q = 0.45, e = ?0.37. These results were compared with the reported effects of stannic chloride and zinc chloride on the radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate.     

Preparation and (13C)NMR spectroscopy of stereoregular poly(methacrylic acid)

Several procedures for synthesis of stereoregular poly(methacrylic acid) have been examined and the polymer characterized by (¹³C)NMR. Using d⁶ DMSO as solvent for spectroscopy gives better spectra than those previously obtained using aqueous solutions and stereochemical splittings can be resolved in the methyl signals. Free-radical polymerization in toluene solution is a Bernouilli process giving mainly heterotactic/syndiotactic polymer. Polymers produced with free-radical initiation in aqueous solution have a higher, and pH dependent, content of syndiotactic triads. A previously described procedure for producing regular polymers by hydrolysis of poly(trimethylsilyl methacrylate) requires modification to produce isotactic contents of above 90% and does not give truly syndiotactic polymer. In contrast, polymerization with γ-radiation can produce polymers with close to 90% of syndiotactic triads.     

Oligomers of stereoregular polymers

The embryonic state of the ionic methyl methacrylate (MMA) and of trihaloacetaldehyde polymerization was studied. The composition of the oligomer mixtures, the end groups and the stereochemistry of individual compounds of the oligomers was investigated. Depending upon the initiating systems the oligomerization of methyl methacrylate can give either isotactic or syndiotactic oligomers. Trihaloacetaldehye oligomerization is highly dependent on the ceiling temperature of polymerization. The oligomerization of fluoral and chloral is compared with a more detailed study of the bromal polymerization and even more interestingly with the cooligomerization of chloral and bromal.