Anionic polymerization organometallic initiators

Richards et at. carried out extensive studies on the use of mercury,2 6 277 lead278 279 and silver compounds to terminate anionic polymerization and form polymeric organometallic species which can be used to initiate polymerization. 

The core first method starts from multifunctional initiators and simultaneously grows all the polymer arms from the central core. The method is not useful in the preparation of model star polymers by anionic polymerization. This is due to the difficulties in preparing pure multifunctional organometallic compounds and because of their limited solubility. Nevertheless, considerable effort has been expended in the preparation of controlled divinyl- and diisopropenylbenzene living cores for anionic initiation. The core first method has recently been used successfully in both cationic and living radical polymerization reactions. Also, multiple initiation sites can be easily created along linear and branched polymers, where site isolation avoids many problems. 

A variety of basic (nucleophilic) initiators have been used to initiate anionic polymerization [Bywater, 1975, 1976, 1985 Fontanille, 1989 Hsieh and Quirk, 1996 Morton, 1983 Morton and Fetters, 1977 Quirk, 1995, 1998, 2002 Richards, 1979 Szwarc, 1983 Young et al., 1984]. These include covalent or ionic metal amides such as NaNFU and LiN(C2H5)2, alkoxides, hydroxides, cyanides, phosphines, amines, and organometallic compounds such as n-C4H9Li and <)>MgBr. Initiation involves the addition to monomer of a nucleophile (base), either a neutral (B ) or negative (B ) species. 

For some monomers (e.g., nitroethylene and 2-cyano-2,4-hexadienoic acid ester, CH3-CH=CH-CH=C(CN)-COOR), anionic polymerization can be conducted in aqueous alkaline solution. Other anionic initiators are Lewis bases, e.g., tertiary amines or phosphines, and organometallic compounds (see Sect. 3.2.1.2). Since the polarizability of unsaturated compounds depends very much on the substituents and on the solvent used, there are considerable differences in the effectiveness of the initiators mentioned. 

Anionic polymerization can be initiated with tertiary phosphines or amines, with organometallic compounds or with alcoholates. With all of these, initiation occurs by nucleophilic attack on the positive carbonyl carbon atom ... 

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. 

Grafting from has not been a successful method in anionic polymerization because the required low molecular weight multifunctional organometallic initiators are almost always insoluble and this is also expected to be the case when dendrimers are modified. However, in cationic polymerizations the dormant species is less polar and more soluble. For example, the hexabenzyl bromide... 

To begin, let s consider the anionic polymerization of styrene. For an initiator, we will choose an organometallic compound an organic compound bonded to a metal atom) such as butyllithium, C4H9 Li+. Although the details differ, you should recognize the overall similarity of the mechanism for this anionic polymerization to that for the free radical polymerization of ethylene, above (initiation, propagation, and termination). 

A great majority of organometallic compounds, especially of those which can be used as initiators, are easily solvolyzed by polar molecules. Inactive or weakly active products are formed. If the properties of the metal-carbon bond are to be useful for initiating anionic polymerizations, the organometallic compound must be able to yield a carbanion, either free or bound to the counter ion. 

The opening of lactam rings by strong bases and their anionic polymerization proceed by means of a complicated disproportionation [173]. The reaction is usually initiated by an organometallic lactam derivative with the alkali... 

Acrylate monomers do not generally polymerize by a cationic mechanism. However, the anionic polymerization of acrylic monomers to stereoregular or block copolymers is well known. These polymerizations are conducted in organic solvents, primarily using organometallic compounds as initiators. 

Since polystyrene is one of the oldest commercial polymers with over 9 million tonnes/yr of sales, there have been thousands of patents issued covering all aspects of its manufacture and property enhancement. The styrene monomer readily polymerizes to polystyrene either thermally or with free-radical initiators (see Chapter 6 on free-radical polymerization and Chapter 8 on nitroxide-mediated polymerization). Commercial processes for the manufacture of polystyrene are described in Chapter 3 while process modelling and optimization of styrene polymerization is examined in Chapter 5. Styrene also can be polymerized via anionic and Ziegler-Natta chemistries using organometallic initiators. Using free radical and anionic polymerization chemistries, the... 

This group usually leads to anionic or coordinate polymerization which are not covered by this review. Nevertheless, polymerizations of oxetanes and THF, known to proceed exclusively by a cationic mechanism, have also been induced by various organometallic initiators. In many cases, these initiators lead to higher molecular weight polymers, probably reacting fast and first with impurities that could, if not destroyed, lower the molecular weight by chain transfer. 

Anionic polymerization, as we might expect, is initiated by bases Li NH2, for example, or organometallic compounds like n-butyllithium. For example ... 

The anionic polymerization of epoxides can be initiated by hydroxides, alkoxides, metal oxides, and some organometallic derivatives. For simpUcity the initiator will be generally represented as M A", e.g., K (Bu O) for potassium butoxide. Thus, the polymerization of ethylene oxide can be represented (Young and Lovell, 1990 Odian, 1991) by the initiation step ... 

Alkyllithium Compounds Although anionic polymerization of vinyl monomers can be effected with a variety of organometallic compounds, alkyllithium compounds are the most useful class of initiators [3, 44, 46, 45, 55]. A variety of simple alkyllithium compounds are readily available commercially in hydrocarbon solvents such as hexane and... 

Initiation The mechanism of initiation of anionic polymerization of vinyl monomers with alkyllithium compounds and other organometallic compounds is complicated by association and cross-association phenomena in hydrocarbon solvents and by the presence of a variety of ionic species in polar media [3, 4, 45, 48, 55, 56]. The kinetics of initiation is complicated by competing propagation and the occurrence of cross-association of the alkyllithium initiator with the propagating organolithium [55]. Thus, only the initial rates provide reliable kinetic data. 

One important class of anionic-polymerization initiators are the organometallic compounds, especially those of lithium and sodium (see Chapter 5 to review the general properties of the metalloalkyls). Grignard reagents can induce polymerization of acrylonitrile and acrylate esters, but not of hydrocarbons. Initiation by organosodium compounds often involves in situ generation of the active species from sodium metal. Sodium metal catalyzes the polymerization of dienes, and the mechanism has been shown to involve a dianion formed by dimerization of the diene radical anion. An alternative initiation system for anionic polymerization involves... 

Anionic Polymerization with Organometallic Compounds as Initiators... 

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