Polymerization by alkaline earth metal compounds—I. Studies on the polymerization of methylmethacrylate by triphenylmethyl metal derivatives and related compounds of calcium,strontium and barium

A series of related organo-alkaline earth metal compounds of formula (Ph₃C)MX(THF)_η, (M = Ca, Sr, Ba; X = Cl: M = Ca, Sr; X = Br: M = Ba; X = CPh₃), has been isolated and characterized using analytical and spectroscopic techniques. The polymerization of methylmethacrylate (MMA) has been studied using these organometallic compounds as initiators. Investigations of the tacticity variations of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) produced in 1,2-dimethoxyethane or tetrahydrofuran (THF) at 210 K have shown that the syndiotacticity is higher in the former solvent, decreases with the following changes in initiator composition: Ca > Sr ? Ba; Cl > Br; in THF, it is dependent on the monomer concentration. The molecular weight distributions of the PMMA samples are broad and have distinct bi- or poly-modal features. The polymerization process appears to be anionic in nature but the evidence suggests that more than one type of propagation occurs and mechanistic aspects are discussed. Polymerization of bulk MMA by these same initiators is also reported. The initiators RMX(THF)_n (M = Sr, R = Me, n = 3 or R = Et, n = 2) and (C₃H₅)SrBr(THF)₂ are shown to be inefficient for polymerization of MMA. The glass transition temperatures of a range of PMMA samples of differing tacticity are presented and discussed.     

Vinyl polymerization initiated by system of organic halides and tertiary amines

A study of the polymerization of vinyl monomers with binary systems of tertiary amines and various organic halides containing chemical bonds such as C? Cl, N? Cl, O? Cl, S? Cl, and Si? Cl has been made at 60°C. Some of the binary systems were found to be effective as radical initiator in the polymerization of methyl methacrylate. The relative initiating activities of the halides in the presence of dimethylaniline were found to be in the following order: tert-C₄H₉OCl > n-C₄H₉NCl₂ > (n-C₄H₉)₂NCl ? CH₃SiCl₃ ? C₆H₅SiCl₃ > C₆H₅SO₂Cl > C₆H₅Cl > C₆H₅PCl₂. Styrene and vinyl acetate polymerized only with the initiator system of dimethylaniline and benzyl chloride. Tri-n-butylamine was less active than dimethylaniline. Pyridine and 4-vinylpyridine, in combination with some organic halides, also initiated the polymerization of methyl methacrylate. The N-vinylcarbazole–benzenesulfonyl chloride system, in the presence of methyl methacrylate, gave only the homopolymer of N-vinylcarbazole.     

Atom transfer radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate catalyzed by ion exchange resin immobilized Co(II) hybrid catalyst

Ion exchange resin immobilized Co(II) catalyst with a small amount of soluble CuCl₂/Me₆TREN catalyst was successfully applied to atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of methyl methacrylate (MMA) in DMF. Using this catalyst, a high conversion of MMA (>90%) was achieved. And poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) with predicted molecular weight and narrow molecular weight distribution (M_w/M_n = 1.09–1.42) was obtained. The immobilized catalyst can be easily separated from the polymerization system by simple centrifugation after polymerization, resulting in the concentration of transition metal residues in polymer product was as low as 10 ppm. Both main catalytic activity and good controllability over the polymerization were retained by the recycled catalyst without any regeneration process. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 1416–1426, 2008     

Vinylhydroquinone. III. Copolymerization of vinylhydroquinone and vinyl monomers by tri-n-butylborane

The copolymerization of vinylhydroquinone (VHQ) and vinyl monomers, e.g., methyl methacrylate (MMA), 4-vinyl-pyridine (4VP), acrylamide (AA), and vinyl acetate (VAc), by tri-n-butylborane (TBB) was investigated in cyclohexanone at 30°C under nitrogen. VHQ is assumed to copolymerize with MMA, 4VP, and AA by vinyl polymerization. The following monomer reactivity ratios were obtained (VHQ = M₂): for MMA/VHQ/TBB, r₁ = 0.62, r₂ = 0.17; for 4VP/VHQ/TBB, r₁ = 0.57, r₂ = 0.05; for AA/VHQ/TBB, r₁ = 0.35, r₂ = 0.08. The Q and e values of VHQ were estimated on the basis of these reactivity ratios as Q = 1.4 and e = ?;1.1, which are similar to those of styrene. This suggests that VHQ behaves like styrene rather than as an inhibitor in the TBB-initiated copolymerization. No homopolymerization was observed either under nitrogen or in the presence of oxygen. The reaction mechanism is discussed.     

Synthesis,structural characterization and cytotoxic activity of diorganotin(IV) complexes of N‐(5‐halosalicylidene)‐α‐amino acid

Fourteen new diorganotin(IV) complexes of N‐(5‐halosalicylidene)‐α‐amino acid, R′₂Sn(5‐X‐2‐OC₆H₃CH?NCHRCOO) (where X = Cl, Br; R = H, Me, i‐Pr; R′ = n‐Bu, Ph, Cy), were synthesized by the reactions of diorganotin halides with potassium salt of N‐(5‐halosalicylidene)‐α‐amino acid and characterized by elemental analysis, IR and NMR (¹H, ¹³C and ¹¹⁹Sn) spectra. The crystal structures of Bu₂Sn(5‐Cl‐2‐OC₆H₃CH?NCH(i‐Pr)COO) and Ph₂Sn(5‐Br‐2‐OC₆H₃CH?NCH(i‐Pr)COO) were determined by X‐ray single‐crystal diffraction and showed that the tin atoms are in a distorted trigonal bipyramidal geometry and form five‐ and six‐membered chelate rings with the tridentate ligand. Bioassay results of a few compounds indicated that the compounds have strong cytotoxic activity against three human tumour cell lines, i.e. HeLa, CoLo205 and MCF‐7, and the activity decreased in the order Cy>n‐Bu>Ph for the R′ group bound to tin. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

ATRP of MMA under 60Co γ‐irradiation at room temperature

In this work, atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of methyl methacrylate (MMA) was successfully carried out at room temperature (25 °C) under ⁶⁰Co γ‐irradiation environment. The polymerization proceeded smoothly with high conversion (>90%) within 7 h. The polymerizations kept the features of controlled radical polymerization: first‐order kinetics, well‐predetermined number‐average molecular weights (M_n,GPC), and narrow molecular weight distributions (M_w/M_n < 1.25). ¹H NMR spectroscope and matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry confirmed that poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) chain was end‐capped by the initiator moieties. The Cu(II) concentration could reduce to 20 ppm level while keeping good control over molecular weights. This is the first successful example for the ATRP of MMA under ⁶⁰Co γ‐irradiation at room temperature. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Kinetics and mechanism of monomolecular heterolysis of commercial organohalogen compounds: XXXVIII. Correlation analysis of solvent effects on the activation parameters of heterolysis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">t</Emphasis>-BuBr and <Emphasis Type="Italic">t</Emphasis>-BuI

Heterolysis of t-BuBr and t-BuI in aprotic solvents involves a H - S compensation effect. The G of t-BuBr heterolysis in aprotic solvents decreases with increasing solvent polarity and cohesion, whereas the respective value for t-BuI heterolysis decreases with increasing solvent polarity, nucleophilicity, and polarizability. In protic solvents, a negative effect of nucleophilic solvation is observed.Translated from Zhurnal Obshchei Khimii, Vol. 74, No. 9, 2004, pp. 1476–1483.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2004 by Ponomarev, Zaliznyi, Dvorko.This revised version was published online in April 2005 with a corrected cover date.     

Kinetics of dispersion polymerization: Effect of medium composition

The effect of the medium composition (monomer and solvent) on the kinetics of dispersion polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) was studied via reaction calorimetry. It was found that increasing the monomer concentration increased the reaction rate; the exponent of the dependency of the initial reaction rate on the MMA concentration was found to be 0.93. Narrow particle size distributions were achieved at the lower monomer concentrations (0.24–0.81 mol/L) and a minimum size (2.45 μm) was found at an intermediate concentration (0.44 mol/L). The average molecular weight of the PMMA increased and the molecular weight distribution broadened with increasing monomer concentration. During a dispersion polymerization, the MMA concentration was found to decrease linearly with conversion in both phases, whereas the ratio of concentrations in the particles and continuous phase ([M]_p/[M]_c) remained constant (0.47) with partitioning favoring the continuous phase. The average number of free radicals per particle in MMA dispersion polymerization was estimated to be high from the nucleation stage onward (>5000). The increasing rate during the first ～ 40% conversion was primarily caused by the increasing volume of the polymer particle phase. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 3638–3647, 2008     

Effect of triphenyl phosphite on the radical polymerization of styrene and methyl methacrylate

The effects of triphenyl phosphite (TPP) on the radical polymerization of styrene (St) and methyl methacrylate (MMA) initiated with α,α,-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) was investigated at 50°C. The rate of polymerization of St and MMA at a constant concentration of TPP was found to be proportional to the monomer concentration and the square root of the initiator concentration. The rate of polymerization and the degree of polymerization of both St and MMA increased with increasing TPP concentration. The accelerating effect was shown to be due to the decrease of the termination rate constant k_t with an increase in the viscosity of the polymerization systems. The chain transfer constant C_tr of TPP in St and MMA systems was determined from the degree of polymerization system. The C_tr of TPP was almost zero in the St system and 6.5 × 10^?5 in the MMA system.     

Thermal‐initiated reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer polymerization of methyl methacrylate in the presence of oxygen

A novel reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer polymerization (RAFT) of methyl methacrylate (MMA) in the presence of oxygen was carried out for the first time without added chemical initiators. The polymerization was mediated by 2‐cyanoprop‐2‐yl 1‐dithionaphthalate (CPDN) or cumyl dithionaphthalenoate (CDN) as RAFT agent. The polymerization demonstrated the features of a living/controlled radical polymerization. The polymerization rate increased with oxygen concentration. Polymers with molecular weight M_n up to 520,000 g/mol, polydispersity M_w/M_n ～1.46 and RAFT efficiency M_n,th/M_n,GPC ～1.026 in the case of CPDN and M_n ～331,500 g/mol, M_w/M_n ～1.35, and M_n,th/M_n,GPC ～1.137 in the case of CDN were obtained. The possible mechanism of the thermal‐initiated RAFT polymerization of MMA in the presence of oxygen was discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 3343–3354, 2006     

Grafting of polymers onto carbon whisker by anionic graft polymerization of vinyl monomers using metallized aromatic rings and/or phenoxy lithium groups on the surface as initiator

During the anionic polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) initiated by n-butyl-lithium (n-BuLi) in the presence of carbon whisker, PMMA was found to be grafted onto the surface depending on the propagation from OLi groups, which are produced by the reaction of oxygen containing groups on the surface with n-BuLi. But no grafting of polystyrene was observed at all. By the activation of OLi groups by the addition of crown ether, however, the grafting of polystyrene onto the carbon whisker was achieved. On the other hand, it was found that metallized carbon whisker also initiates the anionic graft polymerization of MMA and styrene: percentage of grafting of PMMA and polystyrene reached 231.3 and 157.9%, respectively. The metalation of carbon whisker was achieved by the treatment with n-BuLi in aprotic polar solvents, such as N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylethylene-diamine or hexamethylphosphorous triamide, and in toluene in the presence of complexing agent of cation such as crown ether or a small amount of aprotic solvent. In the polymerization, grafted polymer chains were considered to propagate both from metallized aromatic rings and from OLi groups. The polymer-grafted carbon whisker gave a stable colloidal dispersion in organic solvents.     

Effect of Rh(III) and Ru(II) complexes in the polymerization of vinyl monomers initiated by charge transfer mechanism

The initiation of polymerization of vinyl monomers such as methyl methacrylate (MMA) and methyl acrylate (MA) by a charge transfer complex formed between n-butylamine(nBA) and carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) at 30°C is slow. The effect of the dimethylsulfoxide complexes of Rh(III) and Ru(II) on the polymerization of MMA and MA in the presence of nBA, and CCl₄ in DMSO has been studied. The rate of polymerization and percent conversion of the MMA and MA at 30°C are evaluated at the critical concentration of the metal complexes. At the critical range of the metal complex concentrations, both R_p, and percent conversion of MMA and MA were found to be highest. However, above and below the critical concentrations, R_p and percent conversion of the monomers were found to decrease. A suitable mechanism for the polymerization has been proposed.     

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     

Cyclodextrins in polymer synthesis: free radical polymerization of cyclodextrin host‐guest complexes of methyl methacrylate or styrene from homogenous aqueous solution

The polymerization of methylated β‐cyclodextrin (m‐β‐CD) 1 : 1 host‐guest compounds of methyl methacrylate (MMA) ( 1 ) or styrene ( 2 ) is described. The polymerization of complexes 1 a and 2 a was carried out in water with potassium peroxodisulfate (K₂S₂O₈)/sodium hydrogensulfite (NaHSO₃) as radical redox initiator at 60°C. Unthreading of m‐β‐CD during the polymerization led to water‐insoluble poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) ( 3 ) and polystyrene ( 4 ). By comparison, analogously prepared polymers from uncomplexed monomers 1 and 2 in ethanol as organic solvent with 2,2′‐azoisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as radical initiator showed significantly lower molecular weights and were obtained in lower yields in all cases. Polymerization of m‐β‐CD complexed MMA in water, initiated with 2,2′‐azobis(N,N ′‐dimethyleneisobutyroamidine) dihydrochloride, occurred much faster than the polymerization of uncomplexed MMA in methanol under similar conditions. Furthermore, it was shown, that the precipitation polymerization of complexed MMA from homogeneous aqueous solution can be described by equations (P_n^–1 ∝ lsqb;Irsqb;^0.5) similar to those for classical polymerization in solution.     

茚基镍的卤化物/四苯硼钠/三苯基膦体系催化苯乙烯聚合

The catalytic activity of a series of indenylnickel（Ⅱ） halides： （1-R-Ind）Ni（PPh3）X （R=ethyl, cyclopentyl and benzyl, while X=Cl, Br and I）, towards styrene polymerization was studied in the presence of NaBPh4 and PPh3. The catalytic property of these halides was related to the substituent group on the indenyl ligand and the halogen atom bonded to the metal atom. Among them, the （1-Et-Ind）Ni（PPh3）Cl/NaBPha/PPh3 system showed the highest activity for the polymerization of styrene, and the polystyrene obtained was a syndio-rich （rr triad） atactic polymer with Mn values in the range of 103--104. The mechanism of the styrene polymerization initiated by the （1-Et-Ind）Ni（PPh3）Cl/NaBPha/PPh3 system was studied.     

Determination of the activation rate constants of alkyl halide initiators for atom transfer radical polymerization

The second-order activation rate constants k_A for low-molar-mass alkyl halides catalyzed by cuprous halide complexes Cu(I)X/2L (X = Cl or Br; L = 4,4′-diheptyl-2,2′-bipyridine) were determined by the nitroxide capping method along with ¹H NMR. The k_A for 1-phenylethyl bromide, a typical initiator for atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), with the Cu(I)Br complex was found to be close to the known value of the k_A for a polystyryl bromide, being large enough for the initiation to be completed at an early stage of polymerization. It was also found that k_A strongly depends on the kind of halogen and the steric factor of the alkyl halide in question.     

CuX2络合物催化甲基丙烯酸甲酯的氧化聚合

研究了高氧化态过渡金属卤化物络合物催化甲基丙烯酸甲酯(MMA)的氧化聚合.首先在叔胺类聚合物存在条件下以CuBr2/2,2′-联吡啶(bPy)络合物催化MMA在不同溶剂中的氧化聚合,结果在环己酮中得到PMMA均聚物,CuBr2/bPy同叔胺的氧化还原引发可以忽略.随后在环己酮中分别以不同络合物催化MMA的氧化聚合.结果...     

苯氧铜/正丁基锂体系引发MMA负离子聚合及其活性特征的研究

采用苯氧铜/正丁基锂(PhOCu/n-BuLi)体系引发MMA聚合, 通过GPC, ¹H NMR对聚合物进行了表征. 实验结果表明, 该体系聚合反应速度较快, 温度、引发体系组成是影响聚合物分子量及其分布、单体转化率、引发剂引发效率、聚合物的立构规整性的主要因素; －40 ℃时分子量分布比较窄, 但引发效率也比较低(大约15%). 低引发效率、宽分子量分布与引发剂的聚集状态有关. 分子量与单体浓度、引发剂浓度的关系说明, 该体系具有一定程度的活性聚合特点.     

Reactivity of methacrylates in anionic copolymerization with methyl methacrylate by n-BuLi

Monomer reactivity ratios, r₁ and r₂ were determined in the anionic copolymerizations of methyl methacrylate (MMA, M₁) with ethyl (EtMA), isopropyl (i-PrMA), tert-butyl (t-BuMA), benzyl (BzMA), α-methylbenzyl (MBMA), diphenylmethyl (DPMMA), α,α-dimethylbenzyl (DMBMA), and trityl (TrMA) methacrylates (M₂) by use of n-BuLi as an initiator in toluene and THF at -78°C. The order of the reactivity of the monomers towards MMA anion was DPMMA > BzMA > MMA > EtMA > MBMA > i-PrMA > t-BuMA > TrMA > DMBMA in toluene and TrMA > BzMA > MMA > DPMMA > EtMA > MBMA > i-PrMA > DMBMA > t-BuMA in THF. Except for the extremely low reactivity of TrMA and DPMMA in toluene due to steric hindrance, the order was explained in terms of the polar effect of the ester groups. A linear relationship was found between log (1/r₁) and Taft's σ* values of the ester groups, where the ρ* value was 1.1. The plots of log (1/r₁) vs. the ¹H_a (cis to the carbonyl) and ¹³C_ß chemical shifts of the monomers were also on straight lines. The polymer obtained in the copolymerization of MMA with TrMA in toluene by n-BuLi at -78°C was a mixture of poly-MMA and a copolymer, suggesting that there exist two kinds of growing centers.     

Kinetic and ESR studies on radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate in the presence of fullerene

The effect of fullerene (C₆₀) on the radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) in benzene was studied kinetically and by means of ESR, where dimethyl 2,2′-azobis(isobutyrate) (MAIB) was used as initiator. The polymerization rate (R_p) and the molecular weight of resulting poly(MMA) decreased with increasing C₆₀ concentration ((0–2.11) × 10⁻⁴ mol/L). The molecular weight of polymer tended to increase with time at higher C₆₀ concentrations. R_p at 50°C in the presence of C₆₀ (7.0 × 10⁻⁵ mol/L) was expressed by R_p = k[MAIB]^0.5[MMA]^1.25. The overall activation energy of polymerization at 7.0 × 10⁻⁵ mol/L of C₆₀ concentration was calculated to be 23.2 kcal/mol. Persistent fullerene radicals were observed by ESR in the polymerization system. The concentration of fullerene radicals was found to increase linearly with time and then be saturated. The rate of fullerene radical formation increased with MAIB concentration. Thermal polymerization of styrene (St) in the presence of resulting poly(MMA) seemed to yield a starlike copolymer carrying poly(MMA) and poly(St) arms. The results (r₁ = 0.53, r₂ = 0.56) of copolymerization of MMA and St with MAIB at 60°C in the presence of C₆₀ (7.15 × 10⁻⁵ mol/L) were similar to those (r₁ = 0.46, r₂ = 0.52) in the absence of C₆₀. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 2905–2912, 1998