Chain termination tetrahydrofuran

With these monomers polymerization again is complicated by the possibility of side reactions and termination reactions. In the butyl-lithium initiated polymerization of methylmethacrylate in tetrahydrofuran at —78°, monomer added repeatedly after quite long time intervals will polymerize rapidly (117). This is found to be true even if the solution is warmed to room temperature after each addition of monomer. The possibility remains that some termination occurs and that some reinitiation by lithium methoxide is also important. Similar experiments with fluorenyllithium under the same conditions (40) show that after 30 minutes a large percentage of the polymer chains is reactive towards tritiated acetic add. Addition of a second batch of monomer at —78° indicates that some chain termination occurs at this temperature but that no new chains are formed by re-initiation. Some other low molecular... 

Chain Transfer and Termination There are a variety of reactions by which a propagating cationic chain may terminate by transferring its activity. Some of these reactions are analogous to those observed in cationic polymerization of alkenes (Chapter 8). Chain transfer to polymer is a common method of chain termination. Such a reaction in cationic polymerization of tetrahydrofuran is shown as an example in Fig. 10.1. Note that the chain transfer occurs by the same type of reaction that is involved in propagation described above and it leads to regeneration of the propagating species. Therefore, the kinetic chain is not affected and the overall effect is only the broadening of MWD. 

Terminations in tetrahydrofuran polymerizations can depend upon the choice of the counterion, particularly if the reaction is conducted at room temperature. In many reactions the chain continues to grow without any considerable chain termination or transfer. This produced the term living polytetrahydrofuran. Thus, in polymerizations of tetrahydrofuran withPFe or SbFe counterions, the molecular weights of the products can be calculated directly from the ratios of the initiators to the monomers. The molecular weight distributions of the polymers from such polymerization reactions with PFe and SbF6 , however, start out as narrow, but then broaden. This is believed ... 

Anionic polymerization often occurs in the absence of reactions of chain termination. Then anionic centers remain unchanged after polymerization, and polymers with such centers at the ends of macromolecules are named living polymers. These polymers are formed when solvents incapable of terminating the growing macroanions are used, e.g., tetrahydrofuran, dioxane, and 1,2-dimethoxyethane. Both free carbanion and ion pair participate in chain propagation. 

In ionic polymerizations termination by combination does not occur, since all of the polymer ions have the same charge. In addition, there are solvents such as dioxane and tetrahydrofuran in which chain transfer reactions are unimportant for anionic polymers. Therefore it is possible for these reactions to continue without transfer or termination until all monomer has reacted. Evidence for this comes from the fact that the polymerization can be reactivated if a second batch of monomer is added after the initial reaction has gone to completion. In this case the molecular weight of the polymer increases, since no new growth centers are initiated. Because of this absence of termination, such polymers are called living polymers. 

Uses. The largest uses of butanediol are internal consumption in manufacture of tetrahydrofuran and butyrolactone (145). The largest merchant uses are for poly(butylene terephthalate) resins (see Polyesters,thermoplastic) and in polyurethanes, both as a chain extender and as an ingredient in a hydroxyl-terminated polyester used as a macroglycol. Butanediol is also used as a solvent, as a monomer for vadous condensation polymers, and as an intermediate in the manufacture of other chemicals. 

Aromatic amine-terminated poly(tetrahydrofuran) — 650 MW Amine chain extender —4,4 -methylene bis(3-chloro-2,6,-diethyl aniline) Note the amine chain extender must be melted into the polyol at 160°C for 3 hrs under stirring, until completely melted. Once cooled, the chain extender remains liquid in the polyol. 

With respect to the initiation of cationic chain polymerizations, the reaction of chlorine-terminated azo compounds with various silver salts has been thoroughly studied. ACPC, a compound often used in condensation type reactions discussed previously, was reacted with Ag X , X, being BF4 [10,61] or SbFa [11,62]. This reaction resulted in two oxocarbenium cations, being very suitable initiating sites for cationic polymerization. Thus, poly(tetrahydrofuran) with Mn between 3 x 10 and 4 x lO containing exactly one central azo group per molecule was synthesized [62a]. Furthermore, N-... 

In addition to the desired polymerization reaction, the dialcohol reactants can participate in deleterious side reactions. Ethylene glycol, used in the manufacture of polyethylene terephthalate, can react with itself to form a dialcohol ether and water as shown in Fig. 24.4a). This dialcohol ether can incorporate into the growing polymer chain because it contains terminal alcohol units. Unfortunately, this incorporation lowers the crystallinity of the polyester on cooling which alters the polymer s physical properties. 1,4 butanediol, the dialcohol used to manufacture polybutylene terephthalate, can form tetrahydrofuran and water as shown in Fig. 24.4b). Both the tetrahydrofuran and water can be easily removed from the melt but this reaction reduces the efficiency of the process since reactants are lost. 

Reactions in which a reagent is cloven (i) The termination reactions of the type (IX) in which an anionic fragment is abstracted from the anion, so that the chain-carrier is neutralised. This type of termination has been claimed to occur in many systems for example, in the polymerization of tetrahydrofuran by PF5 a terminal F from PF 6 was indeed found [119]. 

Copolymerizations initiated by lithium metal should give the same product as produced from lithium alkyls. Usually the radical ends produced by electron transfer initiation have so short a lifetime they can have no influence on the copolymerization. This is true for instance in the copolymerization of isoprene and styrene (50). The product is identical if initiated by lithium metal or by butyllithium. With the styrene-methylmethacrylate system, however, differences are observed (79,80,82). Whereas the butyllithium initiated copolymer contains no styrene at low conversions, the one initiated by lithium metal has a high styrene content if the reaction is carried out in bulk and a moderate one even in tetrahydrofuran. These facts led O Driscoll and Tobolsky (80) to suggest that initiation with lithium occurs by electron exchange and that in this case the radical ends are sufficiently long-lived to produce simultaneous radical and anionic reactions at opposite ends of the chain. Only in certain rather exceptional circumstances would the free radical reaction be of importance. Some of the conditions required have been discussed by Tobolsky and Hartley (111). The anionic reaction should be slow. This is normally true for lithium based catalysts in hydrocarbon solvents. No evidence of appreciable radical participation is observed for initiation by sodium and potassium. The monomers should show a fast radical reaction. If styrene is replaced by isoprene, no isoprene is found in the copolymer for isoprene polymerizes slowly by free radical initiation. Most important of all, initiation should be slow to produce a low steady concentration of radical-anions. An initiator which produces an almost instantaneous and complete electron transfer to monomer produces a high radical concentration which will ensure their rapid mutual termination. 

It should also be noted that the viscometric technique can detect the presence of star-shaped aggregates, having the ionic active centers. The addition of ethylene oxide to hydrocarbon solutions of poly(isoprenyl)lithium leads to a nearly two-fold increase in viscosity144). Conversely, this results in an approximately twenty-fold decrease in solution viscosity, after termination by the addition of trimethylchloro-silane. This change in solution viscosity is reflected in the gelation which occurs when difunctional chains are converted to the ionic alkoxy active centers 140,145,146). Branched structures have also been detected 147> by viscometry for the thiolate-lithium active center of polypropylene sulfide) in tetrahydrofuran. 

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