Polymerization and copolymerization in associated monomer aggregates

The polymerization of acrylic acid in bulk is controlled by linear plurimolecular H-bonded aggregates of the monomer which lead to the formation of a syndiotactic polymer. Polar solvents do not dissociate these aggregates unless high dilutions are reached. In contrast, “normal” kinetics are observed in the presence of 10–20 per cent toluene, n-hexane or chloroform. The polymerization of methacrylic acid is not affected to the same extent by molecular aggregates. In the copolymerization of acrylic acid with methyl acrylate or acrylonitrile, the reactivity ratios are altered by solvents. The acrylic acid content is higher in copolymers formed in bulk than in toluene solution. But similar effects are observed in the presence of DMF which does not dissociate the aggregates of acrylic acid; moreover, copolymerization data obtained with methacrylic acid indicate that other factors may be involved in determining reactivity ratios.Acrylamide also forms H-bonded aggregates and its copolymerization behaviour is strongly affected by solvents. No simple correlation holds, however, between reactivity ratios and extent of association.A very strict control of chain propagation occurs when 4-vinylpyridine is polymerized in the presence of polycarboxylic acids. A considerable rate increase was observed when vinylpyridine was grafted into polytetrafluoroethylene films which contained poly(acrylic acid) branches. This effect is explained by assuming that the pyridine groups form strong associations with the carboxylic sites, thereby providing a very favourable orientation of the vinyl groups for chain propagation.     

Carbon-13 NMR spectroscopy of acrylic monomer and Lewis acid complexes

¹³C NMR spectra of acrylic monomers complexed with a Lewis acid were measured and their electronic structures discussed in relation to their alternating copolymerizability. The β-carbon of acrylonitrile and methacrylonitrile showed a downfield shift due to the complex formation with the Lewis acid, while the α-carbon showed an upfield shift and the nitrile carbon showed no significant shift. The degree of shift of olefinic carbons decreased in the following order: AlCl₃ > EtAlCl₂ > Et_1.5AlCl_1.5 > Et₂AlCl > SnCl₄, EtOAlCl₂ > Et(EtO)AlCl, which seems to run parallel to the Lewis acidity and acid strength. On the other hand, the chemical shift of olefinic carbons of methyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, and olefinic diesters was influenced little by complex formation with Lewis acids, whereas the carbonyl and alkoxyl carbons were deshielded significantly by the complex formation. These results are discussed in terms of electron distribution on the carbons and an alternating polymerization mechanism.     

Regioselective hydrosilylations of propiolate esters with tris(trimethylsilyl)silane

Lewis acid and substituent dependency on the regioselectivity of hydrosilylation of propiolate esters 1a-c with tris(trimethylsilyl)silane (2a) was found. The reaction of methyl and ethyl propiolate esters and 2a without Lewis acid and in the presence of EtAlCl2 and Et2AlCl gave beta-silicon-substituted Z-alkenes 3 selectively. On the other hand, reaction in the presence of AlCl3 in dichloromethane gave alpha-silicon-substituted alkenes 4. In the case of trifluoroethyl propiolate ester 1c, reaction with aluminum chloride-based Lewis acids gave alpha-silicon-substituted alkenes 4 exclusively. Two competitive mechanisms, free-radical and ionic, are proposed as the source of the complementary regioselectivity displayed in these reactions. A transition state of the radical-forming step was obtained computationally. The reaction of various reactive acetylene substrates and 2a without Lewis acid and without solvent at room temperature gave beta-silicon-substituted Z-alkenes 3 selectively.     

Controlled radical copolymerization of β‐pinene and acrylonitrile

The feasibility of the radical copolymerization of β‐pinene and acrylonitrile was clarified for the first time. The monomer reactivity ratios evaluated by the Fineman–Ross method were r_β‐pinene = 0 and r_{acrylonitrile} = 0.66 in dichloroethane at 60 °C with AIBN, which indicated that the copolymerization was a simple alternating copolymerization. The addition of the Lewis acid Et₂AlCl increased the copolymerization rate and enhanced the incorporation of β‐pinene. The first example for the synthesis of an almost perfectly alternating copolymer of β‐pinene and acrylonitrile was achieved in the presence of Et₂AlCl. Furthermore, the possible controlled copolymerization of β‐pinene and acrylonitrile was then attempted via the reversible addition–fragmentation transfer (RAFT) technique. At a low β‐pinene/acrylonitrile feed ratio of 10/90 or 25/75, the copolymerization with 2‐cyanopropyl‐2‐yl dithiobenzoate as the transfer agent displayed the typical features of living polymerization. However, the living character could be observed only within certain monomer conversions. At higher monomer conversions, the copolymerizations deviated from the living behavior, probably because of the competitive degradative chain transfer of β‐pinene. The β‐pinene/acrylonitrile copolymers with a high alternation degree and controlled molecular weight were also obtained by the combination of the RAFT agent cumyl dithiobenzoate and Lewis acid Et₂AlCl. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 2376–2387, 2006     

Acrylonitrile Copolymerizations. V. Anomalous Kinetics and Secondary Reactions in Copolymerization with Vinyl Chloride

Kinetic deviations from the Lewis and Mayo theory for the radical copolymerization of acrylonitrile and vinyl chloride reported previously are tentatively interpreted as a consequence of an internal transfer reaction involving the tertiary hydrogen atom of an antepenultimate acrylonitrile unit. Although the deviations disappear if acrylonitrile is replaced by methacrylonitrile, this interpretation is far from being quantitatively satisfactory. Another explanation seems to be better: it involves intramolecular copolymerization with C[dbnd]N triple bonds producing a cyclic imine radical which gives rise to coloration of the copolymer and causes the formation of new C[dbnd]N^. radicals with low reactivity vs propagation reactions.     

丙烯腈,丙烯酸甲酯,衣康酸三元共聚竞聚率的测定

本文主要论述三种单体以不同配比在硫氢酸钠水溶液中进行共聚合，探讨其反应规律，用电子计算机由三元共聚组成方程求出了反应体系中三个单体的六个竞聚率，建立了配料组成、共聚物的组成及计算的竞聚率之间的关系，并对三元共聚竞聚率进行了分析。     

Sustainable Diels–Alder syntheses in imidazolium ionic liquids

An effective and simple protocol for the Diels–Alder reactions catalyzed and mediated by ionic liquid in conjunction with Lewis acid was studied. Diels–Alder adduct of the reaction of 1,4-benzoquinone with isoprene and 2,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene was obtained in good to excellent yields within the time span of 5.00–4.00 min under microwave irradiation. Due to the excellent activity of 2,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene as a diene, its efficiency was further analyzed by performing against four different dienophiles under various reaction conditions. The ionic liquid, 3-methyl-1-octyl-imidazolium tetrachloroaluminate mixed with Lewis acids, could be recycled and reused for consecutive cycles. The recovered ionic liquid in conjunction with Lewis acid displayed almost similar activity without any significant loss. This system is an essential upgrade and related to the reactions consuming common organic solvents at high temperatures and longer duration. Diels–Alder reactions under solventless conditions have also been investigated for the aforesaid reactions.     

Copolymerization with Depropagation

Free-radical copolymerizations of styrene with α-methylstyrene and methyl methacrylate and of acrylonitrile with α-methylstyrene have been carried out in the approximate regions of the ceiling temperatures of α-methylstyrene and methyl methacrylate. A theoretical treatment of copolymerization emphasizing the thermodynamic reversibility of particular propagation reactions has been compared with a kinetic treatment of copolymerization which emphasizes penultimate unit effects on the same propagation reactions. The former is found to adequately describe experimental copolymer composition data over a wide range of temperatures and over the complete range of monomer feed composition.     

Theoretical study for pyridinium-based ionic liquid 1-ethylpyridinium trifluoroacetate: synthesis mechanism, electronic structure, and catalytic reactivity

By performing density functional theory calculations, we have studied the synthesis mechanism, electronic structure, and catalytic reactivity of a pyridinium-based ionic liquid, 1-ethylpyridinium trifluoroacetate ([epy](+)[CF(3)COO](-)). It is found that the synthesis of the pyridinium salt follows a S(N)2 mechanism. The electronic structural analyses show that multiple H bonds are generally involved in the pyridinium-based ionic liquid, which may play a decisive role for stabilizing the ionic liquid. The cation-anion interaction mainly involves electron transfer between the lone pair of the oxygen atom in the anion and the antibonding orbital of the C*-H bond (C* denotes the carbon atom at the ortho-position of nitrogen atom in the cation). This present work has also given clearly the catalytic mechanism of [epy](+)[CF(3)COO](-) toward to the Diels-Alder (D-A) reaction of acrylonitrile with 2-methyl-1,3-butadiene. Both the cation and anion are shown to play important roles in promoting the D-A reaction. The cation [epy](+), as a Lewis acid, associates the C≡N group by C≡N···H H bond to increase the polarity of the C═C double bond in acrylonitrile, while the anion CF(3)COO(-) links with the methyl group in 2-methyl-1,3-butadiene by C-H···O H bond, which weakens the electron-donating capability of methyl and thereby lowers the energy barrier of the D-A reaction. The present results are expected to provide valuable information for the design and application of pyridinium-based ionic liquids.     

Polymerization of vinyl monomer with carbon disulfide–alkali metal complex

The reaction of carbon disulfide with one or two equivalents of alkali metal (potassium- or sodium) was carried out, and the deep red reaction mixture obtained only in diethylene glycol dimethyl ether. The polymerization of vinyl monomers with this reaction mixture was studied. The reaction mixtures of mono- and dialkali metal with carbon disulfide induced the polymerization of N-phenylmaleimide, methyl vinyl ketone, and acrylonitrile but did not induce the polymerization of methyl methacrylate and styrene. In the polymerization of acrylonitrile with this reaction mixture of carbon disulfide with monoalkali metal, the polymerization rate was found to be proportional to the initiator concentration and to the square of the monomer concentration. The activation energy was ?1.1 kcal/mole. Similar results were obtained in the case of carbon disulfide with dialkali metal. The polymer yield increased with increasing solvating power of solvents, i.e., diethylene glycol dimethyl ether, dimethyl sulfoxide, hexamethylphosphoramide, dimethylformamide, tetrahydrofuran. In the copolymerization of AN with MMA, the copolymer obtained consisted almost of AN units.     

丙烯腈在金属镁引发下的聚合动力学

研究了金属镁在硝酸溶液中引发丙烯腈的聚合反应。实验结果表明,聚合速度与金属镁的用量无关,并且当[HNO_3]>[AN]时服从下列关系式: R_p=1.91×10~5e~(-15000/RT)[Mg]~0[AN]~(2.2)[HNO_3]~(0.45) 丙烯腈-丙烯酸甲酯的共聚试验证明,聚合反应是按自由基机理进行。     

Theoretical study of the free‐radical copolymerization of styrene with methyl methacrylate: Comparative study to the styrene–acrylonitrile monomer system

Enthalpic and electronic terminal and penultimate unit effects in the free‐radical copolymerization of styrene (S) with methyl methacrylate (M) were investigated by quantum mechanical calculations at 0 and 298 K. Total energies, zero‐point energies scaled by a 0.96 factor, and thermal enthalpy corrections for all optimized structures were computed at the B3‐LYP/6‐31G(d) level of theory. Differences in enthalpies for elementary propagation reactions at 0 and 298 K did not exceed 0.6 kcal/mol. Enthalpic effects of the replacement of S by M in the penultimate position of the growing radicals in elementary copolymerization propagation reactions (enthalpic penultimate unit effects) were always positive, ranging from 1.2 to 3.3 kcal/mol at 298 K. The values suggested that the elementary propagation reactions involving more S units in the growing polymer chain ends should be slightly thermodynamically preferred. A comparison of these results with those for the S–acrylonitrile monomer system showed that the most crucial feature differentiating enthalpic effects for the two monomer systems is the replacement of M by acrylonitrile in the reaction pair CH₃‐S‐M · + M → CH₃‐S‐M‐M · and CH₃‐M‐M · + M → CH₃‐M‐M‐M ·. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 1557–1565, 2004     

Acrylonitrile Copolymers Using Cobalt Acetylacetonate Triethylaluminum Initiator System. IV. Copolymerization with Styrene

The copolymerization of acrylonitrile with styrene was studied using homogeneous Ziegler-Natta initiator containing cobalt acetylacetonate and triethylaluminum in benzene at 50°C. The overall rate of polymerization shows an interesting dependence on triethylaluminum, monomer, and initiator concentrations. The overall activation energy for the polymerization was found to be 10 kcal/mol. The polymerization was susceptible to inhibition by added hydroquinone. These observations are explained based on a mechanism wherein acrylonitrile competes for complexation with both the catalyst sites and the Lewis acid. The catalyst sites appear to possess both coordinate anionic and free radical characteristics.     

Aza-Morita-Baylis-Hillman reactions of N-(benzylidene)polyfluoroanilines with methyl acrylate and acrylonitrile

Aza-Morita-Baylis-Hillman reactions of N-(benzylidene)polyfluoroanilines 1 with methyl acrylate or acrylonitrile were studied. It was found that Lewis base, solvent and reaction temperature can significantly affect the reaction. Using 3-hydroxyquinuclidine (3-HQD) as a Lewis base in the reactions of 1 with methyl acrylate in DMF, the normal aza-Morita-Baylis-Hillman adducts 3 were formed in moderate to excellent yields. For the reactions of 1 with acrylonitrile, 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO) is the best Lewis base giving the corresponding aza-Morita-Baylis-Hillman adducts 4 as the sole product in good to moderate yield. However, upon treatment of 1 with acrolein 2c, the corresponding reaction did not occur even in the presence of a variety of catalysts.     

Preparation of 2,3,4-Trisubstituted Piperidines by a Formal Hetero-Ene Reaction of Amino Acid Derivatives

N-Benzyl- or N-tosyl-N-(4-methyl-3-pentenyl)amino aldehyde benzylimines, which are obtained from alanine, leucine, or phenylalanine methyl esters in five steps, can be cyclized diastereoselectively in the presence of Lewis acids to give 3-amino-2,4-dialkyl-substituted piperidines. The product distribution and diastereoselectivity depends on the type of Lewis acid and nitrogen-protecting group. Benzyl-protected imines give 2-alkyl-3-(benzylamino)-4-isopropenyl piperidines with FeCl(3) and 2-alkyl-3-(benzylideneamino)-4-isopropylpiperidines with TiCl(4). Tosyl-protected imines show a decreased level of selectivity. The relative configurations of the piperidines were established by NMR and X-ray crystal structure analyses. Iminium ion cyclization followed by two competitive ionic pathways, i.e. either proton elimination or hydride transfer are discussed for these reactions.     

Investigation of the behavior of arenediazonium salts with olefins in BmimPF6

The palladium-catalyzed reactions of olefins with arenediazonium salts in ionic liquids were investigated. For methyl acrylate and methyl acrylonitrile, normal Heck cross-coupling products are obtained in good yields. However, highly selective dimerization products are formed in excellent yields for styrenes. The catalyst system can be recycled.     

Polymerization of coordinated monomers. IX. Charge-transfer spectrum of the system composed of metal halide,polar vinyl monomer,and electron-donating monomer

The 1:2 stannic chloride–methyl methacrylate complex, the 1:2 stannic chloride–acrylonitrile complex, the ethylaluminum dichloride–methyl methacrylate complex, and the ethylaluminum dichloride–acrylonitrile complex exhibit charge-transfer absorption bands in the wavelength region longer than 300 nm with electron-donating compounds such as mesitylene, styrene, toluene, and butadiene. The absorption spectrum of the mixture of either methyl methacrylate or acrylonitrile with the electron-donating compound is, however, a superpostion of the spectra of the components without any additional absorption. Methyl isobutylate, 3-butenyl methyl ketone, and propionitrile show no charge-transfer absorption bands with the electron-donating compound, even in the presence of a metal halide. Both the presence of the C-C double bond conjugating with the polar group and the coordination of the polar group to a metal halide are essential for an electron-accepting monomer to exhibit a charge-transfer absorption with the electron-donating compound. Continuous variation plots with the use of the charge-transfer band definitely show a 1:1 interaction between the methyl methacrylate coordinated to stannic chloride and styrene, resulting in the determination of the equilibrium constants for the charge-transfer complex formation in methylene chloride: 0.21 l./mole at 25°C and 0.67 l./mole at ?50°C. The charge-transfer absorption is attributed to a ternary molecular complex composed of a metal halide, a polar vinyl monomer, and an electron-donating monomer.     

Regioselectivity in Lewis acids catalyzed X-H (O, S, N) insertions of methyl styryldiazoacetate with benzyl alcohol, benzyl thiol, and aniline

Different from Rh(II) catalysts, X-H (X = O, S, N) insertion of methyl styryldiazoacetate catalyzed by Lewis acids including Cu(I), Cu(II) and Ag(I) complexes occurred at γ-position preferably. Only (E)-isomer was observed in the reactions. This method provides an alternative for the synthesis of γ-hydroxyl or γ-amino acid derivatives.     

乙烯基单体/N-苯基马来酰亚胺共聚物组成预测、控制和优化

采用递推方法成功地预测了乙烯基单体/N-苯基马来酰亚胺(PMI)共聚物组成随转化率的变化.选择共聚单体种类和用量,控制和优化共聚物组成.针对氯乙烯(VC)/PMI/丙烯腈(AN)三元悬浮共聚合特殊体系的聚合特点和工艺,得到该三元体系的单体选择范围.     

Simultaneous concentration enrichment and electrophoretic separation of weak acids on a microchip, using in situ photopolymerized carboxylate-type polyacrylamide gels as the permselective preconcentrator

A method for the simultaneous concentration and separation of weak acids using an acidic polyacrylamide gel, fabricated in the microfluidic channel of a commercial poly(methyl methacrylate)-made microchip, is reported. This approach is based on simple photochemical copolymerization for the fabrication of a permselective preconcentrator. The intersection of the poly(methyl methacrylate)-made microchip was filled with a gel solution comprising acrylamide, N,N'-methylene-bis-acrylamide, and 2-acrylamidoglycolic acid, with riboflavin as a photocatalytic initiator. In situ polymerization, near the cross of the sample outlet channel, was performed by irradiation with an argon ion laser beam that is also used as the light source for fluorimetric detection. The electrokinetic properties, combined with electrostatic repulsion between sample components and the anionic groups on the polyacrylamide gel, enable the entrapment and concentration of weak acids at the interface of the cathodic side of the gel plug. This method displays concentration factors of up to 10(5) within 3 min. The effectiveness of the ionic preconcentrator was demonstrated by the sensitive analysis of fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled amino acids.