Cationic polymerization of isobutylene by complexes of alkylaluminum dichlorides with diisopropyl ether: An activating effect of water

The RAlCl₂ × OⁱPr₂‐co‐initiated (R = ⁱBu or Et) cationic polymerization of isobutylene in the presence of externally added water (0.016–0.1 mM) in nonpolar n‐hexane at 10 °C and high monomer concentration (IB] = 5.8 M) has been investigated. It was shown that the sequence of H₂O introduction into the system had the crucial effect on the polymerization rate, saturated monomer conversion, and, to a lesser extent, the content of exo‐olefin end groups. Particularly, the highest polymerization rate (>70% of monomer conversion in 10 min) and acceptable exo‐olefin end groups content (～83%) were observed when ⁱBuAlCl₂ × 0.8OⁱPr₂ reacted with suspended in n‐hexane H₂O before the monomer addition. Better functionality can be obtained when H₂O is introduced into the system in the course of the polymerization (after 3–10 min since the initiation of reaction). Under these conditions, highly reactive polyisobutylenes (exo‐olefin content is 86–89%) with desired low molecular weight (M_n = 1000–2000 g mol^?1) in a high yield (75–90% of monomer conversion in 20 min) were readily synthesized. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 2386–2393