An Investigation of the Structure of Copolymers of lsobutylene and Diene Prepared by Initiation with VCI4 in the Dark and with Visible Light

¹H-NMR spectra of copolymers of isobutylene and 1,3-butadiene, isoprene, and 2,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene were investigated in connection with the elucidation of the formation of soluble and insoluble copolymers. For copolymers soluble in heptane, benzene, and CCI₄ it was found that the incorporation of diene into the polymer chain proceeds by 1,4-addition in the case of copolymerizations conducted both in the dark and with visible light using VC1₄ as initiator. The formation of a soluble and an insoluble copolymer is attributed to a different type of initiation, either with radical-cations of isobutylene, if soluble copolymers are formed, or with radical-cations of diene, if the arising copolymers are insoluble.