Radical ring-opening with methyl methacrylate

TABLE 1. Copoly merization Scoping Reactions Using the Radical Ring-Opening Polymerization Monomer, 5-Methylene-2-phenyl-l,3-dioxolan-4-one, with Methyl Methacrylate... 

The terpolymer of the radical ring-opening polymerization monomer, 5-methyl-ene-2-phenyl-l,3-dioxolan-4-one, (I), with styrene, and methyl methacrylate was also prepared. 

Figure 5. Radical ring-opening cyclization copolymerization of 1,1-bis(ethoxycarbonyl)-2-vinylcyclopropane with methyl methacrylate.

Ring-opening polymerization of 2-methylene-l,3-dioxepane (Fig. 6) represents the single example of a free radical polymerization route to PCL (51). Initiation with AIBN at SO C afforded PCL with a of 42,000 in 59% yield. While this monomer is not commercially available, the advantage of this method is that it may be used to obtain otherwise inaccessible copolymers. As an example, copolymerization with vinyl monomers has afforded copolymers of e-caprolactone with styrene, 4-vinylanisole, methyl methacrylate, and vinyl acetate. 

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