Ring-opening cationic polymerization

A major difference between cationic and free radical curing is the degree of shrinkage caused by the polymerization. Cationic ring-opening polymerization... 

The polymerizations of tetrahydrofuran [1693-74-9] (THF) and of oxetane [503-30-0] (OX) are classic examples of cationic ring-opening polymerizations. Under ideal conditions, the polymerization of the five-membered tetrahydrofuran ring is a reversible equiUbtium polymerization, whereas the polymerization of the strained four-membered oxetane ring is irreversible (1,2). 

Cationic ring-opening polymerization is the only polymerization mechanism available to tetrahydrofuran (5,6,8). The propagating species is a tertiary oxonium ion associated with a negatively charged counterion ... 

The chemistry of polymerization of the oxetanes is much the same as for THE polymerization. The ring-opening polymerization of oxetanes is primarily accompHshed by cationic polymerization methods (283,313—318), but because of the added ring strain, other polymerization techniques, eg, iasertion polymerization (319), anionic polymerization (320), and free-radical ring-opening polymerization (321), have been successful with certain special oxetanes. 

The cationic ring opening polymerization of oxolane (THF) or of N-substituted aziridines can be initiated by oxocarbenium salts [42]. The methacrylic ester unsaturation is insensitive to cationic sites, and polyoxolanes (poly-THF) macromonomers are obtained in good yields. 

Pencek, S., Kubisa, P. and Matyjaszewski, K. Cationic Ring-Opening Polymerization of Heterocyclic Monomers. Vol. 37, pp. 1 —149. 

Interest in anionic polymerizations arises in part from the reactivity of the living carbanionic sites4 7) Access can be provided to polymers with a functional chain end. Such species are difficult to obtain by other methods. Polycondensations yield ro-functional polymers but they provide neither accurate molecular weight control nor low polydispersity. Recently Kennedy51) developed the inifer technique which is based upon selective transfer to fit vinylic polymers obtained cationically with functions at chain end. Also some cationic ring-opening polymerizations52) without spontaneous termination can yield re-functional polymers upon induced deactivation. Anionic polymerization remains however the most versatile and widely used method to synthesize tailor made re-functional macromolecules. 

This polymeric oxocarbenium salt readily initiates the cationic ring opening polymerization of oxolane to produce a polystyrene-polyTHF block copolymer. Molecular weight control is provided, polydispersity is narrow and compositional heterogeneity is small59). 

Polyamines can also be synthesized by cationic ring-opening polymerization of ethyleneimines (aziridines), trimethyleneimines (azetidines), and 2-oxazolines. 

The cationic ring opening polymerization of e-caprolactone, CL, and 8-valerolactone, VL, was investigated using n-Bu0H/HCl-Et20 as the initiation system [56]. It was observed that narrow molecular weight distribution samples were obtained. These results were combined with those previously... 

The bifunctional initiator 4-hydroxy-bulyl-2-bromoisobulyralc, HBBIB, promoted the ATRP of styrene as well as the cationic ring opening polymerization of THF [134], In the presence of Cu/CuBr2/PMDETA styrene was polymerized through the bromoisobutyrate function of HBBIB, to give PS chains end-functionalized with hydroxyl groups, PS-OH. The in situ... 

By utilizing a combination of RAFT and cationic ROP, the synthesis of [poly(methyl methacrylate)][poly(l,3-dioxepane)][polystyrene] miktoarm star terpolymers was achieved [182], The approach involved the synthesis of PS functionalized with a dithiobenzoate group by RAFT polymerization and subsequent reaction with hydroxyethylene cinnamate (Scheme 98). The newly created hydroxyl group was then used for the cationic ring opening polymerization of 1,3-dioxepane (DOP). The remaining dithiobenzoate group was used for the RAFT polymerization of methyl methacrylate. 

The simplest model compound is cyclohexene oxide III. Monomers IV, V and VII represent different aspects of the ester portion of I, while monomers VII and VIII reflect aspects of both the monomer I and the polymer which is formed by cationic ring-opening polymerization. Monomers IV-VII were prepared using a phase transfer catalyzed epoxidation based on the method of Venturello and D Aloisio (6) and employed previously in this laboratory (7). This method was not effective for the preparation of monomer VIII. In this specific case (equation 4), epoxidation using Oxone (potassium monoperoxysulfate) was employed. 

Cypryk, M. Chojnowski, J. Kurjata, J. Tertiary Trisilyloxonium Ion and Silylenium Cation in Cationic Ring-opening Polymerization of Cyclic Siloxanes. In Organosilicon Chemistry VI From Molecules to Materials Auner, N., Weis, J., Eds. Wiley-VCH Weinheim, 2005 pp 85-92. 

Chojnowski, J. Kazmierski, K. Cypryk, M. Fortuniak, W. Cationic Ring Opening Polymerization of Cyclotrisiloxanes with Mixed Siloxane Units. In Silicones and Silicone-Modified Materials-, Clarson, S. J., Fitzgerald, J. J., Owen, M. J., Smith, S. D., Eds. ACS Symposium Series 729 American Chemical Society Washington, DC, 2000 pp 20-37. 

Figure 8.3 Two mechanisms have been proposed for the cationic ring-opening polymerization of oxetanes, the ACE route and the AMM [16]...

The cationic ring-opening polymerization of epichlorohydrin in conjunction with a glycol or water as a modifier produced hydroxyl-terminated epichlorohydrin (HTE) liquid polymers (1-2). Hydroxyl-terminated polyethers of other alkylene oxides (3 4), oxetane and its derivatives (5 6), and copolymers of tetrahydrofuran (7-15) have also been reported. These hydroxyl-terminated polyethers are theoretically difunctional and used as reactive prepolymers. 

Formation of cyclic oligomers is a characteristic feature of the cationic ring-opening polymerization of cyclic ethers (16-17). 

HTE liquid polymers were synthesized by cationic ring-opening polymerization of epichlorohydrin (ECH) in the presence of water or ethylene glycol (EG) as a modifier (1). Cyclic oligomers were removed by extraction. After extraction, the liquid polymers were essentially free from cyclic oligomers as determined by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) (Figure 1). 

The proposed structures are consistent with the polyaddition mechanism of cationic ring-opening polymerization of ECH in conjunction with a modifier (18). The polymer chain propagates simultaneously at both ends of the difunctional modifier through polyaddition of monomers. Consequently, one unit of modifier is incorporated into the polymer chain and the functionality of the... 

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