Ring-opening polymerization of cyclobutane adduct of dimethyl 1,1-dicyanoethylene-2,2-dicarboxylate and ethyl vinyl ether

For an extension of the work on the ring-opening polymerizations of cyclobutane adducts of strong donor olefins and strong acceptor olefins yielding novel alternating copolymers of those olefins, the ring-opening polymerization of the cyclobutane adduct 3 of dimethyl 1,1-dicyanoethylene-2,2-dicarboxylate (DDED) and ethyl vinyl ether (EVE) is investigated. Cyclobutane 3 reacted with methanol and acetic acid at ambient temperature to yield the corresponding ring-opened adducts. The polymerizations of 3 were carried out with anionic initiators, tertiary amines, ammonium halides, and Lewis acids, respectively, according to the polymerization methods of the cyclobutane adduct 1 of tetracyanoethylene (TCNE) and EVE. All these polymerization catalysts except for ammonium halides were effective for the polymerization of 3 , yielding alternating copolymers of DDED and EVE. The chain transfer reactions of the polymerization with anionic initiators are also discussed on the basis of a model reaction. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 35: 1563–1570, 1997