Activated monomer mechanism chain generation

The combination of living cationic polymerization and NCA polymerization has also been reported. Schlaad synthesized poly(2-isopropyl-2-oxazoline)-h-PBLG (16) based on an ammonium-mediated polymerization system. By adding an acid in the NCA polymerization, a primary amino (NH2)-propagating chain end could be transformed into an ammonium (NH3 ) chain end via equilibrium and this system suppresses the generation of the aminyl anion of an NCA monomer that causes byproducts via activated monomer mechanism (Scheme 13.2) (Dimitrov and Schlaad, 2003). 

Chain growth polymers, which are often referred to as addition polymers, form via chain addition reactions. Figure 2.2 presents a generic chain addition mechanism. Chain addition occurs when the active site of a monomer or polymer chain reacts with an adjacent monomer molecule, which is added to the end of the chain and generates a new active site. The active site is the reactive end of a monomer or polymer that participates in the polymerization reaction. 

The reaction model assumed is one in which free-radical polymerisation is compartmentalised within a fixed number of reaction loci, all of which have similar volumes. As has been pointed out above, new radicals are generated in the external phase only. No nucleation of new reaction loci occurs as polymerisation proceeds, and the number of loci is not reduced by processes such as particle agglomeration. Radicals enter reaction loci from the external phase at a constant rate (which in certain cases may be zero), and thus the rate of acquisition of radicals by a single locus is kinetic-ally of zero order with respect to the concentration of radicals within the locus. Once a radical enters a reaction locus, it initiates a chain polymerisation reaction which continues until the activity of the radical within the locus is lost. Polymerisation is assumed to occur almost exclusively within the reaction loci, because the solubility of the monomer in the external phase is assumed to be low. The volumes of the reaction loci are presumed not to increase greatly as a consequence of polymerisation. Two classes of mechanism are in general available whereby the activity of radicals can be lost from reaction loci ... 

These are the most important. The two double bonds mutually activate each other conjugation is essentially not destroyed by addition to the growing chain end. Therefore the conjugated dienes are difunctional monomers. They are polymerized by a relatively simple mechanism. Of all the polymers generated in living tissues, we have so far been able to imitate most closely natural rubber, poIy-cis-l,4-isoprene. Butadiene, isoprene and chloroprene are the dienes most often employed in macro-molecular chemistry. 

Ester derivatives of benzoin are known to display usually quite a low photoinitiation activity in the polymerization of vinyl monomers [85,104]. By contrast, ben2 in alkyl ethers are claimed to generate [17], by a photofragmentation mechanism, benzoyl and a-alkoxy benzyl radicals resulting in a much more active polymerization and crosslinking initiating species (Scheme 25). Thus, polymeric systems having the above moieties in the side chains have been prepared and their photoreactivity studied in more detail [105-107],... 

Reaction 1 appears to result solely in termination. In hydrogenolysis experiments with various chelates we have observed precipitation of lithium hydride in all cases at room temperature. Attempts to generate chelated LiH in situ by adding hydrogen during ethylene polymerization also caused a rapid, irreversible loss of activity. Since there is no evidence that lithium hydride can add to ethylene under moderate polymerization conditions, it is unlikely that any significant chain transfer occurs via this mechanism. Potassium alkyls readily eliminate olefin with the formation of metal hydride, and sodium alkyls do so at elevated temperatures (56). It was noted earlier that chelation of lithium alkyls makes them more like sodium or potassium compounds, so it is quite probable that some termination occurs by eliminating LiH. It is conceivable that this could be a chain transfer mechanism with more reactive monomers than ethylene because addition to lithium hydride would be more favorable. 

---