| Abstract: | Living anionic polymerization of methacrylic esters initiated with aluminum porphyrins ( 1 ) was found to be dramatically accelerated (e.g., 46 000 times) upon addition of bulky Lewis acids such as alkylaluminum diphenolates ( 3 ). Under appropriate conditions, a narrow MWD poly(methyl methacrylate) with Mn exceeding a million could be synthesized. The key conception of this high speed living polymerization is the coexistence of nucleophile ( 2 ) and Lewis acid ( 3 ) realized by steric repulsion. |
