Alkene cationic polymerization

Analogous to the initiation of anionic polymerization by addition of nucleophiles to alkenes, cationic polymerization can be initiated by the addition of electrophiles. The alkenes that respond well to cationic polymerization are those that form relatively stable carbocations when protonated. Of these, the one used most often is 2-methylpropene, better known in polymer chemistry by its common name isobutylene. 

The key initiation step in cationic polymerization of alkenes is the formation of a carbocationic intermediate, which can then interact with excess monomer to start propagation. We studied in some detail the initiation of cationic polymerization under superacidic, stable ion conditions. Carbocations also play a key role, as I found not only in the acid-catalyzed polymerization of alkenes but also in the polycondensation of arenes as well as in the ring opening polymerization of cyclic ethers, sulfides, and nitrogen compounds. Superacidic oxidative condensation of alkanes can even be achieved, including that of methane, as can the co-condensation of alkanes and alkenes. 

Dimerization in concentrated sulfuric acid occurs mainly with those alkenes that form tertiary carbocations In some cases reaction conditions can be developed that favor the formation of higher molecular weight polymers Because these reactions proceed by way of carbocation intermediates the process is referred to as cationic polymerization We made special mention m Section 5 1 of the enormous volume of ethylene and propene production in the petrochemical industry The accompanying box summarizes the principal uses of these alkenes Most of the ethylene is converted to polyethylene, a high molecular weight polymer of ethylene Polyethylene cannot be prepared by cationic polymerization but is the simplest example of a polymer that is produced on a large scale by free radical polymerization... 

In their polymerization, many individual alkene molecules combine to give a high molecular weight product Among the methods for alkene polymerization cationic polymerization coordination polymerization and free radical polymerization are the most important An example of cationic polymerization is... 

On the basis of the mechanism of cationic polymerization predict the alkenes of molecu lar formula C12H24 that can most reasonably be formed when 2 methylpropene [(CH3)2C=CH2] IS treated with sulfunc acid... 

Dimerization in concentrated sulfuric acid occurs mainly with those alkenes that fonn tertiary carbocations. In some cases reaction conditions can be developed that favor the formation of higher molecular-weight polymers. Because these reactions proceed by way of carbocation intermediates, the process is refened to as cationic polymerization. 

In Section 6.21 we listed three main methods for polymerizing alkenes cationic, free-radical, and coordination polymerization. In Section 7.15 we extended our knowledge of polymers to their stereochemical aspects by noting that although free-radical polymerization of propene gives atactic polypropylene, coordination polymerization produces a stereoregulai polymer with superior physical properties. Because the catalysts responsible for coordination polymerization ar e organometallic compounds, we aie now in a position to examine coordination polymerization in more detail, especially with respect to how the catalyst works. 

Cationic polymerization of alkenes and alkene derivatives has been carried out frequently in aqueous media.107 On the other hand, the reaction of simple olefins with aldehydes in the presence of an acid catalyst is referred to as the Prins reaction.108 The reaction can be carried out by using an aqueous solution of the aldehyde, often resulting in a mixture of carbon-carbon bond formation products.109 Recently, Li and co-workers reported a direct formation of tetrahydropyranol derivatives in water using a cerium-salt catalyzed cyclization in aqueous ionic liquids (Eq. 3.24).110... 

On the other hand, in cyclic ethers (alkene oxides, oxetans, tetrahydrofuran) and formals the reaction site is a carbon-oxygen bond, the oxygen atom is the most basic point, and, hence, cationic polymerization is possible. The same considerations apply to the polymerization of lactones Cherdron, Ohse and Korte showed that with very pure monomers polyesters of high molecular weight could be obtained with various cationic catalysts and syncatalysts, and proposed a very reasonable mechanism involving acyl fission of the ring [89]. 

The cationic polymerization of arylenes differs in some respects from that of alkenes. The most notable features are that the degree of polymerization is generally lower and that the proportion of unsaturated end groups is always small [21, 22] and often very variable [10]. In the system styrene-TiCl4-CCl3COOH-toluene low polymers are formed which have tolyl end groups [11]. It is not possible to decide at present whether the transfer reaction involved in this is (VIII) or (IX) ... 

Fontana et al. (1948, 1952) showed that the kinetics of the cationic polymerization of C3H6 by AlBr3 and HBr in an hydrocarbon solvent can be explained on the assumption that the alkene forms complexes with the growing cations, which might be unpaired or paired ... 

Developments in the Theory of Cationic Polymerization VII. Theoretical Attempts at Improving Initiators for Cationic Polymerization of Alkenes, S.D. Pask and P.H. Plesch. European Polymer Journal, 1982, 18, 839-846. 

Developments in the Cationic Polymerization of Alkenes - A Personal View, P.H. Plesch, Macromolecular Symposia, 1994, 85,1-31. 

We have seen a number of reactions in which alkene derivatives can be polymerized. Radical polymerization (see Section 9.4.2) is the usual process by which industrial polymers are produced, but we also saw the implications of cationic polymerization (see Section 8.3). Here we see how an anionic process can lead to polymerization, and that this is really an example of multiple conjugate additions. 

Thus monomers such as isobutylene, styrene, methyl vinyl ether, and isoprene undergo polymerization by cationic initiators. The effect of alkyl groups in facilitating cationic polymerization is weak, and it is only the 1,1-dialkyl alkenes that undergo cationic polymerization. 

This reaction may account in part for the oligomers obtained in the polymerization of pro-pene, 1-butene, and other 1-alkenes where the propagation reaction is not highly favorable (due to the low stability of the propagating carbocation). Unreactive 1-alkenes and 2-alkenes have been used to control polymer molecular weight in cationic polymerization of reactive monomers, presumably by hydride transfer to the unreactive monomer. The importance of hydride ion transfer from monomer is not established for the more reactive monomers. For example, hydride transfer by monomer is less likely a mode of chain termination compared to proton transfer to monomer for isobutylene polymerization since the tertiary carbocation formed by proton transfer is more stable than the allyl carbocation formed by hydride transfer. Similar considerations apply to the polymerizations of other reactive monomers. Hydride transfer is not a possibility for those monomers without easily transferable hydrogens, such as A-vinylcarbazole, styrene, vinyl ethers, and coumarone. 

Cationic polymerization of acrolein has been reported to yield polymers containing both types of repeating units, although one would not expect the alkene group to be reactive toward cationic initiation. 

Matyjaszewski, K. and C. Pugh, Introduction, Chap. 1 and Mechanistic Aspects of Cationic Polymerization of Alkene, Chap. 3 in Cationic Polymerizations Mechanisms, Synthesis, and Applications, K. Matyjaszewski, ed., Marcel Dekker, New York, 1996. 

Plesch, P H., Propagation Rate Constants in the Cationic Polymerization of Alkenes, pp. 1-16 in Cationic Polymerization and Related Processes, E. J. Goethals, ed., Academic Press, New York, 1984. Pregaglia, G. F., M. Minaghi, and M. Cambini, Makromol. Chem., 67, 10 (1963). 

A variety of initiator systems, of the types used in the cationic polymerization of alkenes (Sec. 5-2a) can be used to generate the tertiary oxonium ion-propagating species [Dreyfuss and Dreyfuss, 1969, 1976 Inoue and Aida, 1984 Penczek and Kubisa, 1989a,b]. 

Traditional Ziegler-Natta and metallocene initiators polymerize a variety of monomers, including ethylene and a-olefins such as propene, 1-butene, 4-methyl-1-pentene, vinylcyclo-hexane, and styrene. 1,1-Disubstituted alkenes such as isobutylene are polymerized by some metallocene initiators, but the reaction proceeds by a cationic polymerization [Baird, 2000]. Polymerizations of styrene, 1,2-disubstituted alkenes, and alkynes are discussed in this section polymerization of 1,3-dienes is discussed in Sec. 8-10. The polymerization of polar monomers is discussed in Sec. 8-12. 

Historically acid-catalyzed (cationic) polymerization of alkenes is the oldest polymerization. At the end of the eighteenth century Bishop Watson described resin... 

Cationic polymerization of alkenes involves the formation of a reactive carbo-cationic species capable of inducing chain growth (propagation). The idea of the involvement of carbocations as intermediates in cationic polymerization was developed by Whitmore.5 Mechanistically, acid-catalyzed polymerization of alkenes can be considered in the context of electrophilic addition to the carbon-carbon double bond. Sufficient nucleophilicity and polarity of the alkene is necessary in its interaction with the initiating cationic species. The reactivity of alkenes in acid-catalyzed polymerization corresponds to the relative stability of the intermediate carbocations (tertiary > secondary > primary). Ethylene and propylene, consequently, are difficult to polymerize under acidic conditions. 

Polymerization of isobutylene, in contrast, is the most characteristic example of all acid-catalyzed hydrocarbon polymerizations. Despite its hindered double bond, isobutylene is extremely reactive under any acidic conditions, which makes it an ideal monomer for cationic polymerization. While other alkenes usually can polymerize by several different propagation mechanisms (cationic, anionic, free radical, coordination), polyisobutylene can be prepared only via cationic polymerization. Acid-catalyzed polymerization of isobutylene is, therefore, the most thoroughly studied case. Other suitable monomers undergoing cationic polymerization are substituted styrene derivatives and conjugated dienes. Superacid-catalyzed alkane selfcondensation (see Section 5.1.2) and polymerization of strained cycloalkanes are also possible.118... 

Preformed or in situ-prepared carbocation salts (tropylium, trityl, etc.) are also active in transforming alkenes to carbocations.119,138,140 Preformed carbocation salts are the simplest initiators in cationic polymerization and ideal if the cation is identical to the one derived from the momomer (e.g., fert-butyl cation in the polymerization of isobutylene). 

The results of the study of the effect of synthesis conditions on the composition of poly(4-methyl-l-pentene) have shown that even under conditions most favorable for the successful competition of isomerization with propagation, i.e., —120° C, using EtAlCl2, in ethyl chloride, the polymer contains only 50% of the desired 1,4-structure. It appears that in the series (n— l)-methyl-l-alkenes as n increases the likelihood of obtaining completely isomerized products via cationic isomerization polymerization is decreased. This is supported qualitatively by results obtained in the cationic polymerization of 4-methyl-l-hexene, an (n—2)-methyl-1-alkene (17). 

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