Alkene undergoing anionic polymerization

Problem 6.63 Describe (a) radical-induced, and (b) anion-induced, polymerization of alkenes. (c) What kind of alkenes undergo anion-induced polymerization M... 

The first results of anionic polymerization (the polymerization of 1,3-butadiene and isoprene induced by sodium and potassium) appeared in the literature in the early twentieth century.168,169 It was not until the pioneering work of Ziegler170 and Szwarc,171 however, that the real nature of the reaction was understood. Styrene derivatives and conjugated dienes are the most suitable unsaturated hydrocarbons for anionic polymerization. They are sufficiently electrophilic toward carbanionic centers and able to form stable carbanions on initiation. Simple alkenes (ethylene, propylene) do not undergo anionic polymerization and form only oligomers. Initiation is achieved by nucleophilic addition of organometallic compounds or via electron transfer reactions. Hydrocarbons (cylohexane, benzene) and ethers (diethyl ether, THF) are usually applied as the solvent in anionic polymerizations. 

We have seen that the substituent on the alkene determines the best mechanism for chain-growth polymerization. Alkenes with substituents that can stabilize radicals readily undergo radical polymerization, alkenes with electron-donating substituents that can stabilize cations undergo cationic polymerization, and alkenes with electron-withdrawing substituents that can stabilize anions undergo anionic polymerizations. 

Examples of Alkenes That Undergo Anionic Polymerization... 

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... 

Some alkenes undergo polymerization by more than one mechanism. For example, styrene can undergo polymerization by radical, cationic, and anionic mechanisms because the phenyl group can stabilize benzylic radicals, benzylic cations, and benzylic anions. The particular mechanism followed for the polymerization of styrene depends on the nature of the initiator chosen to start the reaction. 

The number of monomers that undergo chain-growth polymerizations is large and includes such compounds as alkenes, alkynes, allenes, isocyanates, and cyclic compounds such as lactones, lactams, ethers, and epoxides. We concentrate on the chain-growth polymerizations of ethylene and substituted ethylenes and show how these compounds can be polymerized by radical, cation, anion, and organometallic-mediated mechanisms. 

Alkenes that undergo polymerization by an anionic mechanism are those that can stabilize the negatively charged propagating site by resonance electron withdrawal (Table 27.5). 

---