Polymerization by Bases

A-Carboxy-a-amino acid anhydrides, also referred to as 4-substituted oxazolidine-2,5-diones, Leuchs s anhydrides, or N-carboxyanhydrides (NCA), are polymerized by bases and transition metal complexes. Polymerization proceeds with simultaneous decarboxylation to produce a polyamide 

The polyamide is a substituted nylon 2, that is, it is derived from an a-amino acid—the same type used in living organisms to produce polypeptides. NCA polymerizations have been used to synthesize polypeptides, both homopolymers and copolymers, that may be useful in biotechnology applications such as artificial tissues, drug delivery, and biosensors. 

Polymerization by aromatic primary amines (which are weaker nucleophiles) proceeds with considerable molecular weight broadening due to the slower rate of initiation relative to propagation. Water has also been used as an initiator, but the molecular weights are considerably lower, no higher than 10,000-20,000, as a result of slow initiation. 

Polymerizations initiated by strong bases (R-, IIO, RO-) and tertiary amines (which are poor nucleophiles) proceed at much faster rates than do polymerizations initiated hy primary amines. Also, unlike the latter, where each polymer chain contains one initiator fragment (i.e., RNH—), these polymerizations do not result in incorporation of the initiator into the polymer chain. Polymerization proceeds by an activated monomer mechanism similar to that in the anionic polymerization of lactams. The reacting monomer is the NCA anion XLIV 

Polymerization by trialkylamines is useful for synthesizing polypeptides of molecular weights of up to —0.5 million, and the polymerization has many characteristics similar to those of living polymerizations. Polymerizations by the most powerful bases, especially organometallic compounds, are not as useful for polymerizations to such high molecular weights because of side reactions [Imanishi, 1984 Kricheldorf, 1989]. 

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This review is limited to the polymerization of hydrocaibon dienes and olefins by means of organolithium initiators. It is not intended to include activated olefins or dienes that can be polymerized by bases of far lower reactivity or that do not involve direct caibon-lithium bonding. 

Quite generally, and logically, anionic polymerizations are terminated by acids, and cationic polymerizations by bases. 

Potassium enolates of aldehydes, Enolates of aldehydes are somewhat difficult to generate because of competing polymerization by base. They have been obtained recently in high yield by use of potassium hydride in THF at 0° and successfully alkylated, sulfenylated with diphenyl disulfide, and converted into o-iodo aldehydes by iodine. The last two reactions have not been observed previously. Sulfenylation of aldehydes has previously used indirectly generated lithium enolates and a reactive sulfenyl chloride. All three reactions are useful, however, for aldehydes with only one a-proton. Otherwise yields of monosubstituted aldehydes are low and largely by-products are obtained. 

Therefore, this alkene should be readily polymerized by base, just like super glue (Section 12-15). Polymer structure will be... 

PROBLEM 14.7 Ethylene oxide can be polymerized by base to give carbo-wax, a water-soluble wax. Suggest a mechanism for the reaction. 

Tetrahydrofuran cannot be polymerized by bases and the living anionic principle is therefore not available for the formation of block polymers with poly(oxytetramethylene) segments. Recent work, mostly involving cationic intermediates, has provided the following approaches to the synthesis of POTM-containing block copolymers. 

Carbanions stabilized by phosphorus and acyl substituents have also been frequently used in sophisticated cyclization reactions under mild reaction conditions. Perhaps the most spectacular case is the formation of an ylide from the >S-lactam given below using polymeric Hflnig base (diisopropylaminomethylated polystyrene) for removal of protons. The phosphorus ylide in hot toluene then underwent an intramolecular Wlttig reaction with an acetyl-thio group to yield the extremely acid-sensitive penicillin analogue (a penem I. Ernest, 1979). 

PHOST is often prepared by polymerization of 4-acetoxystyrene followed by base-catalyzed hydrolysis (Fig. 29). The acetoxystyrene monomer s stabihty and polymerization kinetics allow production of PHOST of higher quaUty than is easily obtained by direct radical polymerization of HOST. The PHOST homopolymer product is then partially or fully derivatized with an acid-cleavable functionaUty to produce the final resist component. 

Acrolein produced in the United States is stabilized against free-radical polymerization by 1000—2500 ppm of hydroquinone and is protected somewhat against base-catalyzed polymerization by about 100 ppm of acetic acid. To ensure stabiUty, the pH of a 10% v/v solution of acrolein in water should be below 6. 

Since the principal hazard of contamination of acrolein is base-catalyzed polymerization, a "buffer" solution to shortstop such a polymerization is often employed for emergency addition to a reacting tank. A typical composition of this solution is 78% acetic acid, 15% water, and 7% hydroquinone. The acetic acid is the primary active ingredient. Water is added to depress the freezing point and to increase the solubiUty of hydroquinone. Hydroquinone (HQ) prevents free-radical polymerization. Such polymerization is not expected to be a safety hazard, but there is no reason to exclude HQ from the formulation. Sodium acetate may be included as well to stop polymerization by very strong acids. There is, however, a temperature rise when it is added to acrolein due to catalysis of the acetic acid-acrolein addition reaction. 

In order to increase the solubiUty parameter of CPD-based resins, vinyl aromatic compounds, as well as other polar monomers, have been copolymerized with CPD. Indene and styrene are two common aromatic streams used to modify cyclodiene-based resins. They may be used as pure monomers or contained in aromatic steam cracked petroleum fractions. Addition of indene at the expense of DCPD in a thermal polymerization has been found to lower the yield and softening point of the resin (55). CompatibiUty of a resin with ethylene—vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymers, which are used in hot melt adhesive appHcations, may be improved by the copolymerization of aromatic monomers with CPD. As with other thermally polymerized CPD-based resins, aromatic modified thermal resins may be hydrogenated. 

THE can be polymerized by many strongly acidic catalysts, but not all of them produce the requked bitimctional polyether glycol with a minimum of by-products. Several large-scale commercial polymerization processes are based on fluorosulfonic acid, HESO, catalysis, which meets all these requkements. The catalyst is added to THE at low temperatures and an exothermic polymerization occurs readily. The polymerization products are poly(tetramethylene ether) chains with sulfate ester groups (8). 

New templated polymer support materials have been developed for use as re versed-phase packing materials. Pore size and particle size have not usually been precisely controlled by conventional suspension polymerization. A templated polymerization is used to obtain controllable pore size and particle-size distribution. In this technique, hydrophilic monomers and divinylbenzene are formulated and filled into pores in templated silica material, at room temperature. After polymerization, the templated silica material is removed by base hydrolysis. The surface of the polymer may be modified in various ways to obtain the desired functionality. The particles are useful in chromatography, adsorption, and ion exchange and as polymeric supports of catalysts (39,40). 

Because most widely used methods used to prepare classical styrene/divinylben-zene copolymers have always been based on suspension polymerization, it seemed logical that a series of porous PDVB gels using similar methodologies could be developed. In suspension polymerization, divinylbenzene is suspended as a dispersion of small droplets in a continuous phase of water and polymerized by classical free radical initiation. This process produces the spherical beads... 

Bis(3-nitrofurazanoxymethyl)oxetane 221 was synthesized in 52% yield by base-promoted ring closure of the corresponding 3-hydroxy-l-propyl triflate, 219, which is readily available from the diol and triflic anhydride. Oxetane 221 can also be prepared in 74% yield by treatment of the trifurazanyl ether 220 with DBU. Polymerization and copolymerization reactions of oxetane 220 have also been investigated (97MI7) (Scheme 148). 

Acrylamide readily undergoes polymerization by conventional free radical methods, ionizing radiation, ultrasonic waves, and ultraviolet radiation. The base-cata-lized hydrogen transfer polymerization of acrylamide yields poly-/3-alanine (Nylon 3) a water insoluble polymer that is soluble in certain hot organics. All current industrial production is believed to be by free radical polymerization. 

The initiator can be a radical, an acid, or a base. Historically, as we saw in Section 7.10, radical polymerization was the most common method because it can be carried out with practically any vinyl monomer. Acid-catalyzed (cationic) polymerization, by contrast, is effective only with vinyl monomers that contain an electron-donating group (EDG) capable of stabilizing the chain-carrying carbocation intermediate. Thus, isobutylene (2-methyl-propene) polymerizes rapidly under cationic conditions, but ethylene, vinyl chloride, and acrylonitrile do not. Isobutylene polymerization is carried out commercially at -80 °C, using BF3 and a small amount of water to generate BF3OH- H+ catalyst. The product is used in the manufacture of truck and bicycle inner tubes. 

It is necessary to note the limitation of the approach to the study of the polymerization mechanism, based on a formal comparison of the catalytic activity with the average oxidation degree of transition metal ions in the catalyst. The change of the activity induced by some factor (the catalyst composition, the method of catalyst treatment, etc.) was often assumed to be determined only by the change of the number of active centers. Meanwhile, the activity (A) of the heterogeneous polymerization catalyst depends not only on the surface concentration of the propagation centers (N), but also on the specific activity of one center (propagation rate constant, Kp) and on the effective catalyst surface (Sen) as well ... 

The change of shape of the kinetic curves with monomer and inhibitor concentration at ethylene polymerization by chromium oxide catalysts may be satisfactory described 115) by the kinetic model based on reactions (8)-(14). 

The formation of high polymers of olefins in the presence of titanium halogenides with no specially added organometallic co-catalysts was discovered long ago [see (147), and the references therein], A complete description of various alkyl-free polymerization catalysts based on the use of transition metal chlorides may be found in the review by Boor (17), where a comparison of these catalysts with traditional two-component systems is given. 

The processes of reversible adsorption of the coordination" inhibitors (including the adsorption of organometallic compounds) result in an increase in the lifetime of the transition metal-carbon bond. It is possible that due to this, in the case of propylene polymerization by two-component catalysts based on TiCU, at low temperatures a long-term increase of molecular weight with time was observed (192,193). 

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