Cationic polymerization effective monomer

Problem 8.20 Give plausible explanation for the following facts. Primary and secondary alkyl halides are generally ineffective as initiators of cationic polymerization of monomers such as isobutene and styrene, but t-butyl and cumyl chlorides are effective. On the other hand, triphenylmethyl chloride and cyclo-heptatrienyl (tropylium) chloride are not very efBcient in polymerizing isobutylene and styrene but produces rapid polymerization of p-methoxystyrene, vinyl ethers and N-vinylcarbazole. 

Photopolymerization reactions are widely used for printing and photoresist appHcations (55). Spectral sensitization of cationic polymerization has utilized electron transfer from heteroaromatics, ketones, or dyes to initiators like iodonium or sulfonium salts (60). However, sensitized free-radical polymerization has been the main technology of choice (55). Spectral sensitizers over the wavelength region 300—700 nm are effective. AcryUc monomer polymerization, for example, is sensitized by xanthene, thiazine, acridine, cyanine, and merocyanine dyes. The required free-radical formation via these dyes may be achieved by hydrogen atom-transfer, electron-transfer, or exciplex formation with other initiator components of the photopolymer system. 

The initiator can be a radical, an acid, or a base. Historically, as we saw in Section 7.10, radical polymerization was the most common method because it can be carried out with practically any vinyl monomer. Acid-catalyzed (cationic) polymerization, by contrast, is effective only with vinyl monomers that contain an electron-donating group (EDG) capable of stabilizing the chain-carrying carbocation intermediate. Thus, isobutylene (2-methyl-propene) polymerizes rapidly under cationic conditions, but ethylene, vinyl chloride, and acrylonitrile do not. Isobutylene polymerization is carried out commercially at -80 °C, using BF3 and a small amount of water to generate BF3OH- H+ catalyst. The product is used in the manufacture of truck and bicycle inner tubes. 

Results of these orienting experiments compiled in Table 3 in regard to the effect of temperature, medium polarity, initiator concentration, monomer concentration, and coinitiator concentration are similar to those reported by others36"39 for cationic polymerization of a-methylstyrene. For example, decreasing temperature, the molecular weight increases and increasing medium polarity, the yield increases. 

Reactive radical ions, cations and anions are frequent intermediates in organic electrode reactions and they can serve as polymerization initiators, e.g. for vinylic polymerization. The idea of electrochemically induced polymerization of monomers has been occasionally pursued and the principle has in fact been demonstrated for a number of polymers But it appears that apart from special cases with anionic initiation the heterogeneous initiation is unfavorable and thus not competitive for the production of bulk polymers A further adverse effect is the coating of electrodes... 

Such a mechanism is open to serious objections both on theoretical and experimental grounds. Cationic polymerizations usually are conducted in media of low dielectric constant in which the indicated separation of charge, and its subsequent increase as monomer adds to the chain, would require a considerable energy. Moreover, termination of chains growing in this manner would be a second-order process involving two independent centers such as occurs in free radical polymerizations. Experimental evidence indicates a termination process of lower order (see below). Finally, it appears doubtful that a halide catalyst is effective without a co-catalyst such as water, alcohol, or acetic acid. This is quite definitely true for isobutylene, and it may hold also for other monomers as well. 

Postpolymerization of difunctional monomers to effect star branching has been successfully applied in cationic polymerization, e.g. in the case of polyisobutylene initiated with 2-chloro-2,4,4,-trimethylpentane/TiCl4. Addition of divinylbenzene leads to star polymers [104], Vinyl ethers, when polymerized with HI/ZnI2 in toluene at — 40°C, can be copolymerized with divinylether... 

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. 

It is generally accepted that there is little effect of counterion on reactivity of ion pairs since the ion pairs in cationic polymerization are loose ion pairs. However, there is essentially no experimental data to unequivocally prove this point. There is no study where polymerizations of a monomer using different counterions have been performed under reaction conditions in which the identities and concentrations of propagating species are well established. (Contrary to the situation in cationic polymerization, such experiments have been performed in anionic polymerization and an effect of counterion on propagation is observed see Sec. 5-3e-2.)... 

Carbonyl monomers can be polymerized by acidic initiators, although their reactivity is lower than in anionic polymerization. Protonic acids such as hydrochloric and acetic acids and Lewis acids of the metal halide type are effective in initiating the cationic polymerization of carbonyl monomers. The initiation and propagation steps in polymerizations initiated with protonic acids can be pictured as... 

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... 

The initiator concentrations required for cationic polymerizations are smaller than those for radical polymerizations frequently 10 to 10" mol of initiator per mol monomer is sufficient to achieve a high rate of reaction. The effect of initiator concentration on the rate and average degree of polymerization depends on the monomer and a variety of other factors and does not follow a consistent pattern. 

The effect of water is to be explained. Cationic polymerization of VCZ is generally not inhibited by water. The monomer is very basic and can well compete for the carbonium ion with water. Since the polymerization is readily initiated by a proton, water acts as chain transfer agent rather than inhibitor. Although the reactivity of the carbonium ion depends certainly on the nature of the counter-ion, as will be discussed later, water seems to act as an efficient chain transfer agent, at least in the present system. The Ion-radical might consequently be converted to a proton so that the cationic propagation could even be promoted in the presence of water. 

In order to explain the field effects observed for the cationic polymerizations, we have earlier proposed a kinetic scheme based on the two-state polymerization mechanism and on the field-facilitated dissociation hypothesis (11). Though the assumptions involved in the proposed interpretation turn out to be partly invalid in the light of the experimental data accumulated most recently (15), it is still necessary to give an outline of the scheme. We assumed that, by the initiation reaction between initiator molecules (C) and monomer molecules (M), active species of an ion-pair type (My) are produced, a portion of which dissociates into active species of a free ion type (Mf) and gegenions (C ). The propagation, monomer transfer and termination can be effected by the free ions and ion pairs. A dissociation equilibrium is established between the free ions and ion pairs, which can be characterized by a dissociation constant K. Then we have ... 

According to the studies of monomers in the organic glass matrices mentioned so far, the ion radicals formed from solute monomers relate their radiation-induced ionic polymerization to the primary effect of ionizing radiations on matter. It is concievable that the initiating species in the anionic polymerization (caxbanions) are formed by the addition of the monomer molecules to the anion radicals which result from electron transfer from the matrices to the solute monomer. The formation of the cation radicals is necessary also to initiate the cationic polymerization. 

The related monomer, l,3-dioxa-6,7-dithiacyclononane, can be polymerized in the same manner. A variety of catalysts, both anionic and cationic are effective. Similarly, 1,2-dithiacycloalkanes can be polymerized with traces of A1C13 (reaction (12)) ... 

PaMeSt chain end] >10) before the addition of IB. This is based on a recent finding that the living cationic polymerization of pClaMeSt can be accomplished under conditions identical to those used for the synthesis of poly (aMeSt-fc-IB) copolymer [22, 23]. Importantly, the living PpClaMeSt chain end is very stable and there is no loss of livingness even after 5 h under monomer starved conditions. This is attributed to the reduced tendency of intramolecular alkylation due to the particularly large deactivating effect of the p-chloro substituent on the 2,5-positions of the aromatic ring. 

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