| Abstract: | The synthesis and the oxidative polymerization of 1,5-bis(phenoxy)pentane, 1,5-bis(phenoxy)pentane substituted with various electron-donating groups, and 1,5-bis(phenylthio)pentane is described. The polymers derived from methyl substituted 1,5-bis(phenoxy)pentane monomers contain diphenyl methane, 1,2-diphenylethane, and benzyl chloride structural units. The mechanism for the generation of these structural units is presented. It consists of the proton transfer reactions from the cation-radical propagating species and subsequent reactions of the resulting benzyl radicals. The polymerizability of monomers with 1,5-pentanedioxy group is lower than that of the monomers with diphenyl sulfone group. This dissimilarity was attributed to the difference between both the reactivity and the concentration of the cation-radical propagating species resulted from these two classes of monomers. |
