Functional Transfer Agents

Chains with undesired functionality from termination by combination or disproportionation cannot be totally avoided. Tn attempts to prepare a monofunctional polymer, any termination by combination will give rise to a difunctional impurity. Similarly, when a difunctional polymer is required, termination by disproportionation will yield a monofunetional impurity, fhe amount of termination by radical-radical reactions can be minimized by using the lowest practical rate of initiation (and of polymerization). Computer modeling has been used as a means of predicting the sources of chain ends during polymerization and examining their dependence on reaction conditions (Section 

The main limitations on accuracy are the precision of rate constants 

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The a,oo-difunctional PDMS is obtained by cationic polymerization of octamethyl-cyclotetrasiloxane (D4) in the presence of a known amount of tetramethyldisiloxane, acting as a functional transfer agent. Hydrosilylation reaction is carried out in toluene solution at 90 °C with a platinum catalyst. 

Functionalization at one chain end can be achieved by means of efficient functional transfer agents. The problem is to find species which simultaneously allow functionali-zation and adequate control of the molecular weight. A large value of Cs is essential... 

The mechanistic principle of the chain transfer exploiting functionalized transfer agents was used for the synthesis of polymer bound CB AO, attached to the polymer chain via the sulfur atom. Weinstein [73, 74] used phenolic and aminic thiols 79, 81 and disulfides 80, 82 as generators of thiyls during free-radical bulk or emulsion copolymerization of butadiene or isoprene with styrene. Systems formed can be considered as bifunctional physically persistent stabiUzers combining CB and HD fiinctions. 

Inhibitors slow or stop polymerization by reacting with the initiator or the growing polymer chain. The free radical formed from an inhibitor must be sufficiently unreactive that it does not function as a chain-transfer agent and begin another growing chain. Benzoquinone is a typical free-radical chain inhibitor. The resonance-stabilized free radical usually dimerizes or disproportionates to produce inert products and end the chain process. 

The mechanism of this reaction involves an activation of the ammonia and hydrogen peroxide because these compounds do not themselves react (118—121). It appears that acetamide functions as an oxygen transfer agent, possibly as the iminoperacetic acid (41) which then oxidizes the transient Schiff base formed between MEK and ammonia (40) to give the oxaziridine (42), with regeneration of acetamide ... 

In mbber production, the thiol acts as a chain transfer agent, in which it functions as a hydrogen atom donor to one mbber chain, effectively finishing chain growth for that polymer chain. The sulfur-based radical then either terminates with another radical species or initiates another chain. The thiol is used up in this process. The length of the mbber polymer chain is a function of the thiol concentration. The higher the concentration, the shorter the mbber chain and the softer the mbber. An array of thiols have subsequendy been utilized in the production of many different polymers. Some of these apphcations are as foUow ... 

Various techniques have been studied to increase sohds content. Hydroxy-functional chain-transfer agents, such as 2-mercaptoethanol [60-24-2], C2HgOS, reduce the probabihty of nonfunctional or monofunctional molecules, permitting lower molecular-weight and functional monomer ratios (44). Making low viscosity acryhc resins by free-radical initiated polymerization requires the narrowest possible molecular-weight distribution. This requires carehil control of temperature, initiator concentration, and monomer concentrations during polymerization. 

The function of emulsifier in the emulsion polymerization process may be summarized as follows [45] (1) the insolubilized part of the monomer is dispersed and stabilized within the water phase in the form of fine droplets, (2) a part of monomer is taken into the micel structure by solubilization, (3) the forming latex particles are protected from the coagulation by the adsorption of monomer onto the surface of the particles, (4) the emulsifier makes it easier the solubilize the oligomeric chains within the micelles, (5) the emulsifier catalyzes the initiation reaction, and (6) it may act as a transfer agent or retarder leading to chemical binding of emulsifier molecules to the polymer. 

The addition of living poly(styrene) to AIBN leads finally, especially for high coupling efficiencies, to the elimination of one nitrile group [72]. More recently, Ren et al. [73] have used bis(2-chloroethyl)2,2 -azodiisobu-tyrate (see scheme 19) to terminate anionically initiated poly(butadiene) chains. Since the azo transfer agent possesses two functional groups (Cl) that are able to termi-... 

In termination, unsaturated and saturated ends are formed when the propagating species undergo disproportionation, head-to-head linkages when they combine, and other functional groups may be introduced by reactions with inhibitors or transfer agents (Scheme 1.2). In-chain defect structures (within the polymer molecule) can also arise by copolymerization of the unsaturated byproducts of initiation or termination. 

Whether a given species functions as an inhibitor, a retarder, a transfer agent or a comonomer in polymerization is dependent on the monomcr(s) and the reaction conditions. For example, oxygen acts as an inhibitor in many polymerizations yet it readily copolymerizes with S, Reactivity ratios for VAc-S... 

A wide range of dialkyf7 and diaryl disulfides,58 59 diaroyl disulfides,00 and xanthogens61 has been used as transfer agents (Scheme 6.8). Their use ideally leads to the incorporation of functionality at both ends of the polymer chain, thus they find application in the synthesis of tclcchclics (Section 7.5.2). 

These thiohydroxamic esters have seen use in grafting of PAN onto PE,iM of PS, PAM and I MPAM onto cellulose127128 and of PS, PMMA, PVP and PAM onto poly(arylene ether sulfone).12 7 The process involves derivitization of a parent carboxy functional polymer to form the thiohydoxamic ester 82 (R=polvmcr) which then behaves as a polymeric transfer agent and/or radical generator. 

Enikolopyan et al.til found that certain Co11 porphyrin complexes (eg. 87) function as catalytic chain transfer agents. Later work has established that various square planar cobalt complexes (e.g. the cobaloximes 88-92) are effective transfer agents.Ij2 m The scope and utility of the process has been reviewed several times,1 lt>JM ns most recently by Hcuts et al,137 Gridnev,1 3X and Gridnev and Ittel."0 The latter two references1provide a historical perspective of the development of the technique. 

Many Co11 porphyrins (87)110 131 and phthalocyanine complexes (102)110 have been examined for their ability to function as catalytic chain transfer agents and much mechanistic work has focused on the use of these catalysts. The more widespread application of these complexes has been limited because they often have only sparing solubility and they are highly colored. 

End-functional polymers, including telechelic and other di-end functional polymers, can be produced by conventional radical polymerization with the aid of functional initiators (Section 7,5.1), chain transfer agents (Section 7.5.2), monomers (Section 7.5.4) or inhibitors (Section 7.5.5). Recent advances in our understanding of radical polymerization offer greater control of these reactions and hence of the polymer functionality. Reviews on the synthesis of end-functional polymers include those by Colombani,188 Tezuka,1 9 Ebdon,190 Boutevin,191 Heitz,180 Nguyen and Marechal,192 Brosse et al.rm and French.194... 

Depending on the choice of transfer agent, mono- or di-cnd-functional polymers may be produced. Addition-fragmentation transfer agents such as functional allyl sulfides (Scheme 7.16), benzyl ethers and macromonomers have application in this context (Section 6.2.3).212 216 The synthesis of PEG-block copolymers by making use of PEO functional allyl peroxides (and other transfer agents has been described by Businelli et al. Boutevin et al. have described the telomerization of unsaturated alcohols with mercaptoethanol or dithiols to produce telechelic diols in high yield. 

End-functional polymers are also produced by copolymerizations of monosubstituted monomers with a-methylvinyl or other monomers with high transfer constants in the presence of catalytic chain transfer agents (Section 6.2.5)/11 "36 Thus, copolymerization of BA wilh as little as 2% AMS in lhe presence of eobaloximc provides PBA with AMS at the chain cnd.2j7... 

The effect of the initiation and termination processes on compositional heterogeneity can be seen in data presented in Figure 7.3 and Figure 7.4. The data come from a computer simulation of the synthesis of a hydroxy functional oligomer prepared from S, BA, and HEA with a thiol chain transfer agent. The recipe is similar to those used in some coatings applications. 

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