Stereochemistry in cationic polymerization of alkenyl ethers. I. 1H- and 13C-NMR spectra of poly(propenyl ethers)

Benzyl, ethyl, and deuterated ethyl propenyl ethers (BzPE, EPE, and EPE-d₅, respectively) with different cis/trans isomer ratios were polymerized by BF₃O(C₂H₅)₂ at ?78°C in toluene, methylene chloride, and nitroethane solvents. Poly(propenyl alcohol) poly(PA)] was also prepared by treating poly(BzPE) with HBr gas. The steric structure of these polymers was studied by ¹H- and ¹³C-NMR spectroscopy. The poly(EPE-d₅) obtained from a trans-rich monomer mixture was crystalline, while one from a cis-rich monomer mixture was amorphous. Poly(BzPE) was always amorphous. Poly(BzPE), poly(PA), and poly(EPE-d₅) gave ¹H-NMR spectra with two β-methine peaks, relative intensities of which depended on the geometric structure of the monomers. Their spectra of β-methyl protons decoupled from β-methine proton were also split into two peaks, relative intensities of which corresponded to those of the two α-methine peaks. ¹³C-NMR spectra of α-OCH₂ and β-CH₃ of poly(EPE), respectively, consisted of two peaks. These observations show that the poly(propenyl ethers) examined, whether crystalline or amorphous, have only two dyad structures (probably threo or erythro-meso and racemic), and that their α- and β-carbons have the same dyad structure, irrespective of the kind of the alkoxyl groups.