Coordination anionic chain-growth polymerization

Chain gro tvth polymerization begins when a reactive species and a monomer react to form an active site. There are four principal mechanisms of chain growth polymerization free radical, anionic, cationic, and coordination polymerization. The names of the first three refer to the chemical nature of the active group at the growing end of the monomer. The last type, coordination polymerization, encompasses reactions in which polymers are manufactured in the presence of a catalyst. Coordination polymerization may occur via a free radical, anionic, or cationic reaction. The catalyst acts to increase the speed of the reaction and to provide improved control of the process. 

Chapters 5 through 7 deal with polymers formed from chain-growth polymerization. Chain-growth polymerization is also called addition polymerization and is based on free radical, cationic, anionic, and coordination reactions where a single initiating species causes the growth of a polymer chain. 

The polymerization of some monomers does not fall neatly into either of the mechanisms discussed above. We will take up a few of them (e.g., anionic and coordination polymerizations) after we further develop step-growth and chain-growth polymerizations. Some polymerizations can proceed by either mechanism, depending upon the specific monomer or the reaction conditions. The most notable examples, ring-opening polymerization and some of the newer chemistries, are presented as separate categories toward the end of the chapter. 

Chain-growth polymerization involves the sequential step-wise addition of monomer to a growing chain. Usually, the monomer is unsaturated, almost always a derivative of ethene, and most commonly vinylic, that is, a monosubstituted ethane, 1 particularly where the growing chain is a free radical. For such monomers, the polymerization process is classified by the way in which polymerization is initiated and thus the nature of the propagating chain, namely anionic, cationic, or free radical polymerization by coordination catalyst is generally considered separately as the nature of the growing chain-end may be less clear and coordination may bring about a substantial level of control not possible with other methods. ... 

Depending on the nature of the active center, chain-growth reactions are subdivided into radicalic, ionic (anionic, cationic), or transition-metal mediated (coordinative, insertion) polymerizations. Accordingly, they can be induced by different initiators or catalysts. Whether a monomer polymerizes via any of these chain-growth reactions - radical, ionic, coordinative - depends on its constitution and substitution pattern. Also, external parameters like solvent, temperature, and pressure may also have an effect. Monomers able to grow in chain-growth polymerizations are listed in Table 2.2 of Sect. 2.1.4. 

Commodity polymers, which are typically found in most consumer products, are usually formed by chain growth. These include polyethylene, polystyrene, and polypropylene. Polymerization in chain growth begins with a reaction between a monomer and a reactive species, which results in the formation of an active site. This chain growth polymerization occurs via four mechanisms anionic, cationic, free radical, and coordination polymerization. These are the most common synthesis mechanisms for the formation of commodity polymers. The details are beyond the scope of this chapter, and can be found elsewhere. ... 

Growth centers can either be ionic (cationic or anionic), free radical, or coordinational in nature—depending on the kind of initiator system used. Based on the nature of the growth centers, chain-growth polymerization is further classifred as follows [1-3] ... 

Polymerization reactions can proceed by various mechanisms, as mentioned earlier, and can be catalyzed by initiators of different kinds. For chain growth (addition) polymerization of single compounds, initiation of chains may occur via radical, cationic, anionic, or so-called coordinative-acting initiators, but some monomers will not polymerize by more than one mechanism. Both thermodynamic and kinetic factors can be important, depending on the structure of the monomer and its electronic and steric situation. The initial step generates... 

A macromonomer is a macromolecule with a reactive end group that can be homopolymerized or copolymerized with a small monomer by cationic, anionic, free-radical, or coordination polymerization (macromonomers for step-growth polymerization will not be considered here). The resulting species may be a star-like polymer (homopolymerization of the macromonomer), a comblike polymer (copolymerization with the same monomer), or a graft polymer (copolymerization with a different monomer) in which the branches are the macromonomer chains. 

Boron alkyls are expected to be inactive for coordinated anionic polymerization of olefins because the boron-carbon bond is not sufficiently ionic. The diazomethane polymerization with boron alkyl catalyst reported by Bawn, Ledwith and Matthies (275) is a special case of the growth reaction. A coordination mechanism seems most probable, but it has not been ascertained whether the polymer chain migrates as a car-banion or as a radical. If the complex between diazomethane and boron decomposes into a boron-carbene complex, then the polymer chain could migrate as a carbanion with the driving force provided by the electrophilic carbonium ion ... 

Kinetic aspects of step-growth copolymerization have been examined in Section 10.2.2. The principal features of chain-growth copolymerization are very different, but are alike for all types of chain growth, that is, for free-radical, anionic, cationic, and coordination polymerization. 

The examples described in this chapter are designed to provide an indication of some of the procedures that are regularly used by polymer chemists to prepare materials, particularly by chain-growth processes. There are of course many useful techniques and examples that have not been included and we have concentrated on (for the most part at least) relatively well-established procedures, which have stood the test of time. With increasing demands on material properties the emphasis on controlled polymerization has also increased of course anionic polymerization and particularly coordination polymerization techniques have much to offer in this regard, but in recent years other new options have become available to the polymer scientist. Some of these are discussed in the next chapter. 

Compilations of reactivity ratios for various pairs of monomers in radical polymerization have been provided by Eastmond [131] and Odian [132], The reactivity ratios for pairs of given monomers can be very different for the different types of chain-growth copolymerization 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 11.8). 

Anionic and Coordination Polymerization Aggregates of ion pairs, or of covalent species formed reversibly in the anioitic or pseudoanionic polymerization of EO [152, 153], cyclosiloxanes [154] and cychc esters [79, 155-157], were found to be essentially unreactive thus, in polymer chain growth only unimeric, deaggregated species will participate. The pertinent kinetic scheme reads ... 

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