Isotactic polymers methacrylates

Polymerization of t-butyl methacrylate initiated by lithium compounds in toluene yields 100% isotactic polymers 64,65), and significantly, of a nearly uniform molecular-weight, while the isotactic polymethyl methacrylate formed under these conditions has a bimodal distribution. Significantly, the propagation of the lithium pairs of the t-Bu ester carbanion, is faster in toluene than in THF. In hydrocarbon solvents the monomers seem to interact strongly with the Li+ cations in the transition state of the addition, while the conventional direct monomer interaction with carbanions, that requires partial dissociation of ion-pair in the transition state of propagation, governs the addition in ethereal solvents. 

Okamoto and his colleagues60) described the interesting polymerization of tri-phenylmethyl methacrylate. The bulkiness of this group affects the reactivity and the mode of placement of this monomer. The anionic polymerization yields a highly isotactic polymer, whether the reaction proceeds in toluene or in THF. In fact, even radical polymerization of this monomer yields polymers of relatively high isotacticity. Anionic polymerization of triphenylmethyl methacrylate initiated by optically active initiators e.g. PhN(CH2Ph)Li, or the sparteine-BuLi complex, produces an optically active polymer 60). Its optical activity is attributed to the chirality of the helix structure maintained in solution. 

A bulky methacrylate, triphenylmethyl methacrylate (TrMA), is a unique monomer which gives an almost 100% isotactic polymer in anionic polymerization with n-butyllithium both in nonpolar and polar solvents. Moreover, even free-radical polymerization affords a highly isotactic polymer from this monomer.23 The isotactic specificity of TrMA polymerization is ascribed to the helical formation of the main chain. When TrMA is polymerized in toluene at —78°C... 

The same type of addition—as shown by X-ray analysis—occurs in the cationic polymerization of alkenyl ethers R—CH=CH—OR and of 8-chlorovinyl ethers (395). However, NMR analysis showed the presence of some configurational disorder (396). The stereochemistry of acrylate polymerization, determined by the use of deuterated monomers, was found to be strongly dependent on the reaction environment and, in particular, on the solvation of the growing-chain-catalyst system at both the a and jS carbon atoms (390, 397-399). Non-solvated contact ion pairs such as those existing in the presence of lithium catalysts in toluene at low temperature, are responsible for the formation of threo isotactic sequences from cis monomers and, therefore, involve a trans addition in contrast, solvent separated ion pairs (fluorenyllithium in THF) give rise to a predominantly syndiotactic polymer. Finally, in mixed ether-hydrocarbon solvents where there are probably peripherally solvated ion pairs, a predominantly isotactic polymer with nonconstant stereochemistry in the jS position is obtained. It seems evident fiom this complexity of situations that the micro-tacticity of anionic poly(methyl methacrylate) cannot be interpreted by a simple Bernoulli distribution, as has already been discussed in Sect. III-A. 

A polymerization of a bulky methacrylate ester (e.g. trityl methacrylate) using an optically active anionic initiator can give an isotactic polymer, poly 1-methyl-1-[(trityloxy)carbonyl]ethylene of high optical activity owing to the formation of helical polymer molecules with units of predominantly one chirality sense. 

Optically active polymers are rarely encountered. Most syndiotactic polymers are optically inactive since they are achiral. Most isotactic polymers, such as polypropene and poly(methyl methacrylate), are also inactive (Sec. 8-la-l). Optically active polymers have been obtained in some situations and these are discussed below. 

The carbonyl stretching band in the infrared spectrum of isotactic poly (a,a-dimethylbenzy 1 methacrylate) prebaked at 142°C for 1 hr indicated the formation of a small amount of acid group during the prebake, while the atactic polymer showed no change in the spectrum at this temperature. This may be the reason why the isotactic polymer showed a lower 7-value than the atactic polymer (Table III). 

Some of the polymers slowly change their helicity in solution. A chiral crown ether-potassium ferf-butoxide combined system was reported to cause polymerization of methyl, tert-butyl, and benzyl methacrylate to form isotactic polymers that had high rotation values (164). Detailed scrutiny, however, raised questions about the result (135, 165). At first, in the presence of the initiator, the oligomers exhibit considerable activity, but after removal of the catalyst, the optical activity decreases. This decrease may be attributed to unwinding of the helixes in the chain the helicity could be caused by the anchored catalyst. 

Isocyanophosphonates, aldol reactions, 227 Isoquinoline synthesis, enamide reactions, 33 Isomerization allylic amines, 9, 95 olefins, 118, 171 see also specific compounds Isopulegol, 102 Isotactic polymers, 174 chloral, 182 photoirradiation, 347 methacrylates, 181 propylene, 174 Isotacticity, 177... 

The intramolecular interaction energy was calculated for five isotactic polymers, namely, isotactic polypropylene, poly(U-methyl-l-pentene), poly(3-methyl-1-butene), polyacetaldehyde, and poly(methyl methacrylate) (23). The molecular structures of the first four polymers have already been determined by x-ray analyses as (3/1) (2k), (7/2) (18,25.,26), (U/l) (21), and (U/l) helices (28), respectively. Here (7/2) means seven monomeric units turn twice in the fiber identity period. For isotactic poly(methyl methacrylate) (29), a (5/l) helix was considered reasonable at the time of the energy calculation in 1970, before the discovering of... 

By using chiral organolanthanide ansa-metallocenes for methyl methacrylate polymerisation, highly stereoregular poly(methyl methacrylate)s were obtained a syndiotactic or isotactic polymer could be synthesised, depending on the kind of metallocene catalyst [536],... 

Russian workers have recently claimed that polymerization of methyl methacrylate in the presence of zinc chloride yields isotactic polymer. Polymer 6, made according to their procedures, does not appear to be significantly different from what would be normally expected for free radical polymerization at or near room temperature (28). 

If interactions of an electrostatic nature have some effect on the relative stability of trans and gauche rotational isomers, it seems reasonable to expect an effect of solvent, though perhaps small, on the factor a. Such effects on the conformations of small molecules are well known [see Mizushima (14,188) and Wada (259)]. The relatively high value of a for poly(methyl methacrylate), as discussed in paragraph (iv) above, may be due to electrostatic interactions, and it is therefore appropriate to search for a solvent effect here. No such effect was found by Marchal and Lapp (175) in their measurements of the apparent dipole moment of the polymer in various solvents as compared with that of the model monomeric compound, methyl isobutyrate. They concluded that to within experimental error (about 3%) the unperturbed dimensions were independent of the solvent. More recently a very small solvent effect on the dipole moment of the isotactic polymer has been reported by Salovey (223a). 

Sodium and potassium alkyls also polymerize methyl methacrylate to isotactic polymer at low temperatures and in hydrocarbon solvents (233, 211, 212,217). Just as with styrene, stereospecificity increases with decreasing ionic character in the metal-carbon bond and with increasing ability of the metal cation to complex monomer (K < Na< Li). 

Because atactic polymer has no ordered structure and shows only slight intramolecular interactions, the interactions between atactic polymers is the strongest (Fig. 10 a). The isotactic polymers may be stabilized by assuming the helix conformation reported for isotactic poly(methyl methacrylate)401. Nucleic add bases are situated outside the polymer chain so that they can form the complex, although the interaction is not so strong. On the other hand, the syndiotactic polymer may have a rod-like conformation that is supported by the low solubility of the polymer and by NMR spectra321. Tlierefoie, it is well understood that the complex formation ability of the syndiotactic polymers is very low. 

Proton NMR spectroscopy has been used to characterize the tacticity of various vinyl polymers in solution. In the case of isotactic polymers, there are two magnetically non-equivalent protons (Figure 7-34) and, as we discussed earlier in this chapter, this can result in the appearance of four bands (the chemical shift difference is of the same order of magnitude as the coupling constant, so the simple rules for mnltiplicities don t apply and we get what we called an AB pattern). On the other hand, in syndiotactic polymers the two methylene protons are equivalent and we observe only one line. Let s look at this in more detail, using poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), as an example, because bands due to various tactic sequences are particularly well resolved in the spectrum of this material. 

If the different tactic configurations of a single polymer, for example, poly(methyl methacrylate), are considered the lowest value of Tg corresponds to the isotactic polymer. At T < Tg the specific volume of the isotactic polymer is lower than that of the atactic one, and the free volume fraction is the same for both polymers therefore the volume occupied will be less in the isotactic polymer. Nevertheless, at T > Tg, both tactic configurations have similar specific volume consequently the temperature at which the free volume is equal to 0.025 of the total volume is lower in the isotactic form than in the atactic one. 

Although most of the bulky methacrylates described so far give isotactic polymers by radical polymerization as well as by anionic polymerization at low temperatures, the isotactic specificity of the radical polymerization is generally lower than that in the anionic polymerization.70 However, 1-phen-yldibenzosuberyl methacrylate (PDBSMA, 16)71 73... 

Screening of an impressive series of polymers derived from different bulky methacrylate esters, e.g., 42 (Chart 8), and using a variety of chiral ligands has revealed the scope of the process of forming helical poly(methacrylate ester)s and their applicability in, for example, the separation of chiral compounds.151 These polymers were prepared not only by anionic polymerization, but also by cationic, free-radical, and Ziegler—Natta techniques. Recently, Nakano and Okamoto reported the use of a co-balt(II)—salophen complex (43) in the polymerization of methacrylate ester 41.155 The free-radical polymerization in the presence of this optically active metal complex resulted in the formation of an almost completely isotactic polymer with an excess of one helical sense. 

Derivation of polymer also serves as a useful method for tacticity determination. Poly(triphenylmethyl methacrylate) is easily converted to PMMA by hydrolysis and the subsequent methylation with diazomethene. The polymers obtained by anionic polymerization not only in toluene but also in tetrahydrofuran are highly isotactic.189 Even the radical polymerization of the monomer gives an isotactic polymer. 

Some isotactic polymers such as polychloral and poly(triphenylmethyl methacrylate)289 are known to exist only in purely helical conformation. The helical structure of the polymers is rigid even in solution, owing to the bulkiness of the side-groups. This has been demonstrated by the measurement of high optical activity of the polymers prepared by asymmetric polymerizations the optical activity is based on a one-handed helical conformation of the polymer chain. 

One of the most studied polymerization systems employs alkyllithium initiators that are modified by chiral amine ligands for the polymerization of sterically bulky methacrylates [8,38,39,40,41], acrylates [42],crotonates [43], and acrylamides [44]. A primary example is the reaction of triphenylmethyl methacrylate with an initiator derived from 9-fluorenyllithium and (-)-sparteine (3) at -78 °C (Scheme 4). The resultant isotactic polymer is optically active, and is postulated to adopt a right-handed helix as it departs from the polymerization site. This polymer has been particularly successful as a chiral stationary phase for the chromatographic resolution of atropisomers [8]. Many modifications of the or-ganolithium initiator/chiral ligand system have been explored. Recently, Okamo-to has applied enantiopure radical initiators for the enantioselective polymerization of bulky methacrylate monomers [45]. 

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