Polymerizations of butadiene

These differences do not arise from 1,2- or 3,4-polymerization of butadiene. Structures [XIII] and [XIV] can each exhibit the three different types of tacticity, so a total of six structures can result from this monomer when only one of the olefin groups is involved in the backbone formation. 

Other Organolithium Compounds. Organoddithium compounds have utiHty in anionic polymerization of butadiene and styrene. The lithium chain ends can then be converted to useflil functional groups, eg, carboxyl, hydroxyl, etc (139). Lewis bases are requHed for solubdity in hydrocarbon solvents. 

Polymerization Reactions. The polymerization of butadiene with itself and with other monomers represents its largest commercial use. The commercially most important polymers are styrene—butadiene mbber (SBR), polybutadiene (BR), styrene—butadiene latex (SBL), acrylonittile—butadiene—styrene polymer (ABS), and nittile mbber (NR). The reaction mechanisms are free-radical, anionic, cationic, or coordinate, depending on the nature of the initiators or catalysts (194—196). 

Acrylonitrile—butadiene copolymers (nitrile—butadiene mbber, NBR) are also produced via emulsion polymerization of butadiene with acrylonitrile,... 

The Ekestone group also polymerized 1,3-butadiene to give an extremely high mol wt polybutadiene of 70% cis-1 4 stmcture. In thek research, they purposefully avoided the preparation of vinyl stmctures in both polyisoprene and polybutadiene since it was beheved that vinyl groups adversely affected tke performance. Since natural mbber was 99.9% cis-1 4 stmcture and had superior properties, they beheved that a 1,4 stmcture was necessary for acceptable physical properties. The addition of polar compounds to the hthium-catalyzed polymerization of butadiene changes the microstmcture from the 90% tij -l,4 stmcture to a mixed cis-1 4 and trans-1 4 microstmcture. 

The refined grade s fastest growing use is as a commercial extraction solvent and reaction medium. Other uses are as a solvent for radical-free copolymerization of maleic anhydride and an alkyl vinyl ether, and as a solvent for the polymerization of butadiene and isoprene usiag lithium alkyls as catalyst. Other laboratory appHcations include use as a solvent for Grignard reagents, and also for phase-transfer catalysts. 

Solvent polarity is also important in directing the reaction bath and the composition and orientation of the products. For example, the polymerization of butadiene with lithium in tetrahydrofuran (a polar solvent) gives a high 1,2 addition polymer. Polymerization of either butadiene or isoprene using lithium compounds in nonpolar solvent such as n-pentane produces a high cis-1,4 addition product. However, a higher cis-l,4-poly-isoprene isomer was obtained than when butadiene was used. This occurs because butadiene exists mainly in a transoid conformation at room temperature (a higher cisoid conformation is anticipated for isoprene) ... 

Polymerization of butadiene using anionic initiators (alkyllithium) in a nonpolar solvent produces a polymer with a high cis configuration. A high cis-polybutadiene is also obtained when coordination catalysts are used. 

Alkali metals are obvious examples of electron donors, and indeed polymerization of butadiene or styrene initiated by metallic sodium results from an electron transfer initiation process. This reaction has been, and is still, being studied by many investigators, notably by Ziegler55 and by Russian workers.1 In Ziegler s notation the initiation is represented by the equation... 

Another example of such a behavior is provided by the interesting polymerization of butadiene molecules imprisoned in tubes of clathrates of urea.9 Of course, the configuration of the resulting polymer is strongly influenced by the order introduced in the assembly of monomers and thus all trans polybutadiene is formed. 

Polymerization of butadiene and of isoprene confronts us with still another configurational problem. The addition may take place in either the 1,2 or 1,4 positions (with an additional possibility of 3,4 addition in the case of isoprene), and, moreover, in the 1,4 addition the new unit may acquire a cis or a trans configuration. It is known that by proper choice of a catalyst and by judicious adjustment of polymerization conditions processes can be developed which yield polymers of high stereospecificity, namely all 1,4 cis, all 1,4 trans, all 1,2 isotactic, or all 1,2 syndiotactic polymers. 

Platinum-cobalt alloy, enthalpy of formation, 144 Polarizability, of carbon, 75 of hydrogen molecule, 65, 75 and ionization potential data, 70 Polyamide, 181 Poly butadiene, 170, 181 Polydispersed systems, 183 Polyfunctional polymer, 178 Polymerization, of butadiene, 163 of solid acetaldehyde, 163 of vinyl monomers, 154 Polymers, star-shaped, 183 Polymethyl methacrylate, 180 Polystyrene, 172 Polystyril carbanions, 154 Potential barriers of internal rotation, 368, 374... 

Tieke, B. Polymerization of Butadiene and Butadiyne (Diacetylene) Derivatives in Layer Structures. Vol. 71, pp. 79 — 152. 

The application of these catalysts in the initial state (without any special treatment of the surface organometallic complexes of such cata-lysts) for ethylene polymerization has been described above. The catalysts formed by the reaction of 7r-allyl compounds with Si02 and AUOj were found to be active in the polymerization of butadiene as well (8, 142). The stereospecificity of the supported catalyst differed from that of the initial ir-allyl compounds. n-Allyl complexes of Mo and W supported on silica were found to be active in olefin disproportionation (142a). 

A modified latex composition contains a phosphorus surface group. Such a latex is formed by emulsion polymerization of unsaturated synthetic monomers in the presence of a phosponate or a phosphate which is intimately bound to the surface of the latex. Thus, a modified latex containing 46% solids was prepared by emulsion polymerization of butadiene, styrene, acrylic acid-styrene seed latex, and a phosphonate comonomer in H20 in the presence of phosphated alkylphenol ethoxylate at 90°C. The modified latex is useful as a coating for substrates and as a binder in aqueous systems containing inorganic fillers employed in paper coatings, carpet backings, and wallboards [119]. 

Finally it should be stressed that the complexation affects the microstructure of poly dienes. As was shown by Langer I56) small amounts of diamines added to hydrocarbon solutions of polymerizing lithium polydienes modify their structure from mainly 1,4 to a high percentage of vinyl unsaturation, e.g., for an equivalent amount of TMEDA at 0 °C 157) the fraction of the vinyl amounts to about 80%. Even more effective is 1,2-dipiperidinoethane, DIPIP. It produces close to 100% of vinyl units when added in equimolar amount to lithium in a polymerization of butadiene carried out at 5 °C 158 159), but it is slightly less effective in the polymerization of isoprene 160>. 

The Anionic Solution Polymerization of Butadiene in a Stirred-Tank Reactor... 

A pilot scale plant, incorporating a three litre continuous stirred tank reactor, was used for an investigation into the n-butyl lithium initiated, anionic polymerization of butadiene in n-hexane solvent. The rig was capable of being operated at elevated temperatures and pressures, comparable with industrial operating conditions. 

Natural rubber latex, obtained from rubber trees, is converted to its final form by a process known as vulcanization, first discovered by Charles Goodyear in 1839. Vulcaiuzation is basically a crosslinking reaction of double bonds in the latex structure with sulfur. The polymerization of butadiene with itself or with other vinyl monomers results in a material that like natural latex, still contains double bonds. Thus, synthetic rubber made from butadiene can be processed and vulcanized just like natural rubber. 

Morton and Salatiello have deduced the ratio kpp/kp for radical polymerization of butadiene by applying the above described procedure, appropriately modified for the emulsion system they used. The primary molecular weight was controlled by a mercaptan acting as chain transfer agent, as in the experiments of Bardwell and Winkler cited above. Measurement of the mercaptan concentration over the course of the reaction provided the necessary information for calculating % at any stage of the process, and in particular at the critical conversion 6c for the initial appearance of gel. The velocity constant ratios which they obtained from their results through the use of Eq. 

C3H5)Ni(EPh3)2](PF6) (E = P, As, Sb) are active catalysts for olefin oligomerization. The stibine species is the most active in the 1,4-polymerization of butadiene.707,708... 

Some of the important results for butadiene are summarized in Table XV. The most efficient system identified was for cis-polymerization using 1 1 molar ratio of (XXI) with trifluoroacetic acid. An even more remarkable observation, however, was the almost complete suppression of the cis-polymerization in favor of trans-polymerization processes on addition of triphenylphosphite to the mixture of (XXI) and trifluoroacetic acid. More recently (89), Durand and Dawans have synthesized the trifluoroacetates (XXIII) where R = H and C9H15, and these were shown to be catalytically active as well as exhibiting some specificity in polymerization of butadiene and isoprene. 

This gives rise to dual valency state (+3 and +4) (23). As to the activity of lanthanide based catalysts we confirm a singular behavior that has been already reported by Chinese scientists (22) and that is summarized in Fig. 9. The activity of lanthanides in promoting the polymerization of butadiene and isoprene shows a large maximum centered on neodymium, the only exception being represented by samarium and europium that are not active, reasonably because they are reduced to bivalent state by aluminum alkyls, as pointed out by Tse-chuan and associates (22). 

The properties of elastomers are much improved by strain-induced crystallization, which occurs only in polymers with high stereoregularity. The polymerization of butadiene using completely soluble catalysts composed of a) rare earth carboxylates, b) Lewis acids and c) aluminum alkyls leads to polymers with up to 99 % cis-1,4 configuration. These polymers show more strain-induced crystallization than the commercial polybutadienes and consequently their processability is much improved. 

The first, consisting of a uranium salt, trialkylaluminum, and a Lewis acid, had been developed at Goodyear ( 1 ). The other system, described by Snam Progetti (2), permits the polymerization of butadiene to give polymers with a cis content of up to... 

Figure 1. Kinetics of uranium catalyzed polymerization of butadiene. Catalyst system and polymerization conditions are shown in Table I. Conditions 45°C [u], 0.055 mmol/L and [Co], 1.77 mol/L.

We found that completely soluble compounds can be obtained in two ways. The first method, which is widely applicable, is to react a rare earth carboxylate with a small amount of an aluminum alkyl (11). Neodymium octoate can be converted into a product which is completely soluble in cyclohexane by reacting one mole of it with 1 to 5 moles of triethylaluminum. We also found that the rare earth salts of certain tertiary carboxylic acids are very readily soluble in non-polar solvents (12). In conjunction with a Lewis acid and aluminum alkyls, these compounds form highly active catalysts for the polymerization of butadiene. The neodymium Lewis acid aluminum alkyl molar ratio is within the range 1 (0.4-2.0) (10-40). 

For polymerizations of butadiene in toluene at 50°C with the Ba-Li catalyst, we have observed a reduction in molecular weight and the incorporation of benzyl groups in chains of polybutadiene. We conclude from this result that proton abstraction from toluene occurs to give benzyl carbanions which are capable of forming new polymer molecules in a chain transfer reaction. 

Polymer synthesis is carried out according to the scheme shown in Figure 9. A major distinction between the Ba-Mg-Al and Ba-Li catalysts is that no polymerization of butadiene or copolymerization of butadiene with styrene occurs when only one of the three catalyst components of Ba-Mg-Al is used alone at 50°C in nonpolar solvents. This behavior contrasts with the potential ability of n-BuLi alone to form polymer in the Ba-Li catalyst system. 

Quantitative polymerizations of butadiene and copolymerizations of butadiene with styrene to high molecular weight polymers have been obtained. Plots of In (M0/Mt)versus time are linear, indicating a first order dependence on monomer. 

Although the exact nature of the active center in polymerizations of butadiene with these Ba-Mg-Al catalysts is not known, we believe that the preference for trans-1,4 addition is a direct consequence of two aspects of this polymerization system, namely (1) the formation of a specific organobarium structure in a highly complexed state with Mg and A1 species, and (2) the association of the polybutadiene chain end with a dipositive barium counterion which is highly electropositive. 

Polymer Synthesis and Characterization. This topic has been extensively discussed in preceeding papers.(2,23,24) However, we will briefly outline the preparative route. The block copolymers were synthesized via the sequential addition method. "Living" anionic polymerization of butadiene, followed by isoprene and more butadiene, was conducted using sec-butyl lithium as the initiator in hydrocarbon solvents under high vacuum. Under these conditions, the mode of addition of butadiene is predominantly 1,4, with between 5-8 mole percent of 1,2 structure.(18) Exhaustive hydrogenation of polymers were carried out in the presence of p-toluenesulfonylhydrazide (19,25) in refluxing xylene. The relative block composition of the polymers were determined via NMR. 

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