Synthesis of new graft copolymers containing polyisobutylene by a combination of the 1,1‐diphenylethylene technique and cationic polymerization

The synthesis of macroinitiators for the cationic polymerization of isobutylene via radical polymerization is presented. The 1,1‐diphenylethylene system was used to obtain macroinitiators consisting of 4‐chloromethylstyrene and methyl methacrylate units. The resulting polymers were used for the cationic polymerization of isobutylene, yielding graft copolymers that were characterized by gel permeation chromatography and NMR. The dependence of the molar mass and polydispersity on the temperature and monomer concentration was studied. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 3725–3733, 2002