Synthesis and Polymerization of N-(L-Menthylcarboxylatomethyl)maleimide

A new type of optically active N-(L-menthylcarboxylatomethyl)maleimide (MGMI) was synthesized from maleic anhydride, glycine, and L-menthol. Radical homopolymerization of MGMI was performed at 50°C for 24 h to give optically active polymer having [α]_D = -57°. Radical copolymerizations of MGMI (M ₁) were performed with styrene (ST, M ₂), methyl methacrylate (MMA, M ₂) in benzene at 50°C. From the results, the monomer reactivity ratios (r ₁, r ₂) and the Alfrey-Price Q, e values were determined as follows: r ₁ = 0.16, r ₂ = 0.006 for the MGMI-ST system; r ₁ = 0.15, r ₂ = 1.65 for the MGMI-MMA system, and Q ₁ = 0.72, e ₁ = 1.59 calculated from the MGMI-MMA system. Anionic homopolymerizations of MGMI were also carried out. Chiroptical properties of the polymers were investigated.