NIPAM living anionic

Many studies have been carried out on the anionic polymerization of NIPAM using conventional organometallic catalysts. However, the acidic amide proton of NIPAM inhibited anionic polymerization, instead inducing hydrogen-transfer polymerization imder basic conditions, as shown in Scheme 2. The polymers obtained were insoluble in water and did not show LCST phase separation [14,15]. Recently, the polymerization of monomers in which this active hydrogen was protected by methoxymethyl or trialkylsi-lyl group 9,10 was examined and living anionic polymerization has become possible [60-62]. Ishizone et al. have prepared atactic PNIPAM with a narrow MWD via the anionic polymerization of N-methoxymethyl-NIPAM (9)... 

The anionic polymerization of NIPAM derivatives having an LCST has also been examined in detail [63]. Because these monomers had no acidic amide protons, the living polymerization proceeded easily in comparison with NIPAM, and the influence of tacticity, etc., has been examined. 

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