Electroinitiated polymerization of 2-vinylnaphthalene

As part of a program to extend the range of donor–acceptor-initiated polymerization processes, the electroinitiation of 2-vinylnaphthalene in a zinc chloride–sulfolane solution has been studied. Good conversion yields of well-characterized (NMR, IR, GPC, elemental analysis) poly(vinylnaphthalene) were obtained with the process showing several mechanistic similarities to other donor–acceptor salt electropolymerization systems.