Anionic graft polymerization of vinyl monomers initiated by metallized aromatic rings of graphite powder

Anionic graft polymerizations of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and styrene from graphite powder initiated by metallized aromatic rings on the surface were investigated. Metalation of the surface was achieved by the reaction of polycondensed aromatic rings of graphite withn-butyllithium (BuLi) in N,N,N,N-tetramethylethylenediamine (TMEDA) or hexamethylphosphorous triamide (HMPT) at 0 °C., Anionic polymerizations of MMA and styrene were initiated by metallized graphite, and these polymers were grafted onto the surface. The conversion and percentage of grafting increased by increasing the amount of BuLi used for metalation. When 0.20 g of graphite was treated with 0.4–0.5 mmol of BuLi in TMEDA, the percentage of grafting of PMMA and polystyrene reached the maximum value: PMMA 52.8% (PMMA/graphite =0.528 g/1.0 g) and polystyrene 37.2% (polystyrene/graphite=0.372 g/1.0 g). Grafting of polymers was also confirmed by infrared spectra. Although no metalation of graphite proceeded in toluene, graphite could be metallized even in toluene by the addition of crown ether as a complexing cation agent. The stability of graphite powder in organic solvent dispersion was found to be improved remarkably by grafting of polymer onto the surface.