Living vinyl ethers

Cationic Polymerization. For decades cationic polymerization has been used commercially to polymerize isobutylene and alkyl vinyl ethers, which do not respond to free-radical or anionic addition (see Elastomers, synthetic-BUTYLRUBBEr). More recently, development has led to the point where living cationic chains can be made, with many of the advantages described above for anionic polymerization (27,28). 

The observation in 1949 (4) that isobutyl vinyl ether (IBVE) can be polymerized with stereoregularity ushered in the stereochemical study of polymers, eventually leading to the development of stereoregular polypropylene. In fact, vinyl ethers were key monomers in the early polymer Hterature. Eor example, ethyl vinyl ether (EVE) was first polymerized in the presence of iodine in 1878 and the overall polymerization was systematically studied during the 1920s (5). There has been much academic interest in living cationic polymerization of vinyl ethers and in the unusual compatibiUty of poly(MVE) with polystyrene. 

VEs do not readily enter into copolymerization by simple cationic polymerization techniques instead, they can be mixed randomly or in blocks with the aid of living polymerization methods. This is on account of the differences in reactivity, resulting in significant rate differentials. Consequendy, reactivity ratios must be taken into account if random copolymers, instead of mixtures of homopolymers, are to be obtained by standard cationic polymeriza tion (50,51). Table 5 illustrates this situation for butyl vinyl ether (BVE) copolymerized with other VEs. The rate constants of polymerization (kp) can differ by one or two orders of magnitude, resulting in homopolymerization of each monomer or incorporation of the faster monomer, followed by the slower (assuming no chain transfer). 

It is to be noted that N-vinylcarbazole (NVC) undergoes also living cationic polymerization with hydrogen iodide at —40 °C in toluene or at —78 °C in methylene chloride and that in this case no assistance of iodine as an activator is necessary 10d). NVC forms a more stable carbocation than vinyl ethers, and the living propagation proceeds by insertion between the strongly interacting NVC-cation and the nucleophilic iodide anion. 

Quasi-living Carbocationic Polymerization of Alkyl Vinyl Ethers and Block Copolymer Synthesis... 

Various block copolymers have been synthesized by cationic living polymerization [Kennedy and Ivan, 1992 Kennedy, 1999 Kennedy and Marechal, 1982 Puskas et al., 2001 Sawamoto, 1991, 1996]. AB and ABA block copolymers, where A and B are different vinyl ethers, have been synthesized using HI with either I2 or Znl2. Sequencing is not a problem unless one of the vinyl ethers has a substituent that makes its reactivity quite different. Styrene-methyl vinyl ether block copolymer synthesis requires a specific sequencing and manipulation of the reaction conditions because styrene is less reactive than methyl vinyl ether (MVE) [Ohmura et al., 1994]. Both monomers are polymerized by HCl/SnCLj in the presence of (n-CrikjtiNCI in methylene chloride, but different temperatures are needed. The... 

Scheme 2 Termination of living polymers. A Wittig-type reaction for Mo-based initiators, B metathesis with ethyl vinyl ether for Ru-derived initiators...

Due to the fact that the living initiator is almost quantitatively located at the surface of the microglobides, the efficiency of metal removal from the monolith after polymerization is high. Investigations revealed that the remaining ruthenium concentration after capping with ethyl vinyl ether is below 10 xg/g, corresponding to a metal removal of more than 99.8%. 

The polymerization kinetics of alkali salts of living vinyl polymers In ethereal solvents, such as tetrahydrofuran CD, tetrahydropyran (2), dlmethoxyethane Q), oxepane (4) and dloxane... 

A recent contribution reported by Aoshima and Tsukuda showed the aerobic oxidation of alcohols such as benzyl alcohol catalyzed by gold nanoclusters. These stable and durable clusters of less than 4 nm were prepared using thermosensitive vinyl ether star polymers previously obtained by living cationic polymerization. 

M. Sawamoto, T. Enoki, and T. Higashimura, End-functionalized polymers by living cationic polymerization. 1. Mono- and bifunctional poly(vinyl ethers) with terminal malonate or carboxyl groups, Macromolecules, 20(l) l-6, January 1987. 

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