Cationic copolymerization monomer reactivity ratios

These equilibria also strongly affect copolymerization. Monomer reactivity ratios in controlled/living systems should be identical to those in conventional cationic copolymerizations, if the comonomers react exclusively with carbocationic species. The equilibrium between active and... 

For any specific type of initiation (i.e., radical, cationic, or anionic) the monomer reactivity ratios and therefore the copolymer composition equation are independent of many reaction parameters. Since termination and initiation rate constants are not involved, the copolymer composition is independent of differences in the rates of initiation and termination or of the absence or presence of inhibitors or chain-transfer agents. Under a wide range of conditions the copolymer composition is independent of the degree of polymerization. The only limitation on this generalization is that the copolymer be a high polymer. Further, the particular initiation system used in a radical copolymerization has no effect on copolymer composition. The same copolymer composition is obtained irrespective of whether initiation occurs by the thermal homolysis of initiators such as AIBN or peroxides, redox, photolysis, or radiolysis. Solvent effects on copolymer composition are found in some radical copolymerizations (Sec. 6-3a). Ionic copolymerizations usually show significant effects of solvent as well as counterion on copolymer composition (Sec. 6-4). 

It has previously been shown that large changes can occur in the rate of a cationic polymerization by using a different solvent and/or different counterion (Sec. 5-2f). The monomer reactivity ratios are also affected by changes in the solvent or counterion. The effects are often complex and difficult to predict since changes in solvent or counterion often result in alterations in the relative amounts of the different types of propagating centers (free ion, ion pair, covalent), each of which may be differently affected by solvent. As many systems do not show an effect as do show an effect of solvent or counterion on r values [Kennedy and Marechal, 1983]. The dramatic effect that solvents can have on monomer reactivity ratios is illustrated by the data in Table 6-10 for isobutylene-p-chlorostyrene. The aluminum bromide-initiated copolymerization shows r — 1.01, r2 = 1.02 in n-hexane but... 

Monomer reactivity ratios and copolymer compositions in many anionic copolymerizations are altered by changes in the solvent or counterion. Table 6-12 shows data for styrene-isoprene copolymerization at 25°C by n-butyl lithium [Kelley and Tobolsky, 1959]. As in the case of cationic copolymerization, the effects of solvent and counterion cannot be considered independently of each other. For the tightly bound lithium counterion, there are large effects due to the solvent. In poor solvents the copolymer is rich in the less reactive (based on relative rates of homopolymerization) isoprene because isoprene is preferentially complexed by lithium ion. (The complexing of 1,3-dienes with lithium ion is discussed further in Sec. 8-6b). In good solvents preferential solvation by monomer is much less important and the inherent greater reactivity of styrene exerts itself. The quantitative effect of solvent on copolymer composition is less for the more loosely bound sodium counterion. 

These results suggest that the reaction conditions for the syntheses of PCEVE-NPVE and PCEVE-NNVE can be accomplished by the reactions of PCVE with any ratio of potassium cinnamate and PNP or PNN in one pot using a phase transfer catalyst. In addition, it is to be expected that PCEVE-NPVE and PCEVE-NNVE prepared from the reactions of PCVE have the same degree of polymerization if no side reactions occur during the substitution reactions. It is also expected that these copolymers are more random compared to the copolymers prepared from the cationic copolymerizations of the monomers, because the former is not affected by the monomer reactivity ratios. 

The interpretation presented above appears reasonable so far, but it lacks clear-cut support because of the intricate mechanism of the cationic homopolymerization. Therefore, it is interesting to investigate the effect of an electric field on the monomer reactivity ratios in the copolymerizations, which depend on the rates of propagation only. 

We condude this section by stating that the field-accelerating effect on copolymerizations and the change of the monomer reactivity ratio with the field can be accounted for in terms of the interpretation proposed for cationic homopolymerizations, namely the field-facilitated dissociation of the growing chain ends. We should note that the observed field influence on the copolymerization excludes the possibility of the electroinitiated polymerization mechanism. 

Table III shows the increase of molecular weight of BCMO polymerization with conversion, although the polymer tends to precipitate. The monomer reactivity ratios of DOL-BCMO copolymerization were previously determined as rx (DOL) = 0.65 0.05, r2 (BCMO) = 1.5 0.1 at 0°C. by BF3 Et20 (8). Table IV shows a preparation of block copolymer of DOL, St, and BCMO. In the first step we polymerized DOL and St in the second step we added BCMO to this living system. The copolymer obtained showed an increase of molecular weight, and considerable BCMO was incorporated in the copolymer still remaining soluble in ethylene dichloride. The solubility behavior together with the increase of molecular weight with addition of BCMO shows that this polymer consists of block sequences of DOL-St and (St)-DOL-BCMO. This we call block and random copolymer of DOL-St—BCMO. We can deny the presence of BCMO, St, or DOL homopolymers in this system, but some chain-breaking reactions are unavoidable, leading to copolymer mixtures. Thus, the principle of formation of block copolymers by cationic system is partly substantiated.

For example, monomer reactivity ratios for styime and methyl methacrylate in a free-radical copolymerization are r, = 0.5, rj = 0.44. This represents a statistical copolymerization. Contrast this with the anionic reaction, where r = 0.12 and 2 = 6.4, or the cationic reaction where r = 10.5 and Z2 = 0.1. Obviously, the propagation rates are no longer similar, and this is represented in Figure 5.3, where it can be seen that the anionic technique produces a copolymer rich in methyl methacrylate, whereas the cationic system leads to a copolymer with a high styrene content. 

Via cationic living copolymerization, iPrOZO as hydrophobic monomer and EtOZO as hydrophilic monomer produced a copolymer P[iPrOZO-co-EtOZO]. Monomer reactivity ratios were determined as riProzo = d Z9 and rEtozo=l Z8, respectively. These values allowed the development of gradient copolymers 8000-10 000) with varying compositions... 

Acrylamide copolymerizes with many vinyl comonomers readily. The copolymerization parameters ia the Alfrey-Price scheme are Q = 0.23 and e = 0.54 (74). The effect of temperature on reactivity ratios is small (75). Solvents can produce apparent reactivity ratio differences ia copolymerizations of acrylamide with polar monomers (76). Copolymers obtained from acrylamide and weak acids such as acryUc acid have compositions that are sensitive to polymerization pH. Reactivity ratios for acrylamide and many comonomers can be found ia reference 77. Reactivity ratios of acrylamide with commercially important cationic monomers are given ia Table 3. 

VEs do not readily enter into copolymerization by simple cationic polymerization techniques instead, they can be mixed randomly or in blocks with the aid of living polymerization methods. This is on account of the differences in reactivity, resulting in significant rate differentials. Consequendy, reactivity ratios must be taken into account if random copolymers, instead of mixtures of homopolymers, are to be obtained by standard cationic polymeriza tion (50,51). Table 5 illustrates this situation for butyl vinyl ether (BVE) copolymerized with other VEs. The rate constants of polymerization (kp) can differ by one or two orders of magnitude, resulting in homopolymerization of each monomer or incorporation of the faster monomer, followed by the slower (assuming no chain transfer). 

The radical reaction mechanism was confirmed by polymerizing a mixture of styrene and methyl methacrylate. The ratio of the monomers in the copolymer (1.15) was nearly equal to the value (1.05) calculated from the reactivity ratio for radical copolymerization and differed considerably from the value of 10.5 for the cationic copolymerization and from the value 0.15 for anionic copolymerization (78). 

For a detailed analysis of monomer reactivity and of the sequence-distribution of mers in the copolymer, it is necessary to make some mechanistic assumptions. The usual assumptions are those of binary, copolymerization theory their limitations were discussed in Section III,2. There are a number of mathematical transformations of the equation used to calculate the reactivity ratios and r2 from the experimental results. One of the earliest and most widely used transformations, due to Fineman and Ross,114 converts equation (I) into a linear relationship between rx and r2. Kelen and Tudos115 have since developed a method in which the Fineman-Ross equation is used with redefined variables. By means of this new equation, data from a number of cationic, vinyl polymerizations have been evaluated, and the questionable nature of the data has been demonstrated in a number of them.116 (A critique of the significance of this analysis has appeared.117) Both of these methods depend on the use of the derivative form of,the copolymer-composition equation and are, therefore, appropriate only for low-conversion copolymerizations. The integrated... 

Comparing the reactivity ratios of the DADMAC/AAM copolymerization with results of the copolymerization of other cationic monomers with AAM, significant differences can be identified. The differences between rx and r2 are much lower, and the cationic monomer even reacts preferentially during the copolymerization. As an example, for cationic methacrylic esters and methacrylamid derivatives, 1 nonideal copolymerization preferring the cationic component. For the cationic analogs of acrylic acid and acrylamide, 0.34azeotropic copolymerization, preferring the cationic monomer only at low content in the comonomer mixture. 

In the copolymerization of trioxane with dioxolane, reactivity ratios of dissolved copolymer cations are quite different from those of active centers in the crystalline phase. The former strongly prefer addition of dioxolane. The difference in reactivity ratios between dissolved and precipitated active centers is attributed to the fact that in the solid phase, polymerization and crystallization of the copolymer are simultaneous. The cationic chain ends are assumed to be directly on the crystal surface. Determination of the equilibrium concentrations of formaldehyde confirms this conclusion dissolved copolymer has a higher tendency to cleave formaldehyde than crystalline polyoxymethylene. In the latter stages of copolymerization the soluble copolymer is degraded gradually to the dioxolane monomer which is incorporated into the crystalline copolymer in an almost random distribution. 

Mechanistic Aspects of Cationic Copolymerizations The relative reactivities of monomers can be estimated from copolymerization reactivity ratios using the same reference active center. However, because the position of the equilibria between active and dormant species depends on solvent, temperature, activator, and structure of the active species, the reactivity ratios obtained from carbocationic copolymerizations are not very reproducible [280]. In general, it is much more difficult to randomly copolymerize a variety of monomers by an ionic mechanism than by a radical. This is because of the very strong substituent effects on the stability of carbanions and carbenium ions, and therefore on the reactivities of monomers substituents have little effect on the reactivities of relatively nonpolar propagating radicals and their corresponding monomers. The theoretical fundamentals of random carbocationic copolymerizations are discussed in detail and the available data are critically evaluated in Ref. 280. This review and additional references [281,282] indicate that only a few of the over 600 reactivity ratios reported are reliable. 

Differences in reactivity ratios must be taken into account in the synthesis of block copolymers. Synthetic aspects of block copolymerization are discussed in detail in Chapter 5. Ideally, cross-propagation should occur from the more reactive growing species to the more reactive monomer. Here, by more reactive growing species we mean not the more reactive cation but the species that will have a higher apparent rate constant... 

The reactivity ratios for pairs of given monomers can be very different for the different types of chain-growth copolymerization free-radical, anionic, cationic, and coordination copolymerization. Although the copolymer equation is valid for each of them, the copolymer composition can depend strongly on the mode of initiation (see Figure 10.8). 

Some representative values of r and T2 in radical copolymerization for a number of monomer pairs are shown in Table 7.1. These are seen to differ widely. The reactivity ratios obtained in anionic and cationic copolymerizations are given and discussed in Chapter 8. 

Novel iron carbonyl monomer, r)4-(2,4-hexadien-l-yl acrylate)tricarbonyl-iron, 23, was prepared and both homopolymerized and copolymerized with acrylonitrile, vinyl acetate, styrene, and methyl methacrylate using AIBN initiation in benzene.70,71 72 The reactivity ratios obtained demonstrated that 23 was a more active acrylate than ferrocenylmethyl acrylate, 2. The thermal decomposition of the soluble homopolymer in air at 200°C led to the formation of Fe203 particles within a cross-linked matrix. This monomer raised the glass transition temperatures of the copolymers.70 The T)4-(diene)tricarbonyliron functions of 23 in styrene copolymers were converted in high yields to TT-allyltetracarbonyliron cations in the presence of HBF4 and CO.71 Exposure to nucleophiles gave 1,4-addition products of the diene group.71... 

---