Styrene-nuclear substituted styrenes

These monomers copolymerize ideally. Halogen substituents reduce the rate of polymerization while methyl or ethyl groups in the para position have a slight activating effect. This is in conformity with the view that monomer entry into the polymer chain is determined only by individual reaction rates (Table 24) [200]. 

Copolymerization of styrene (Mi) with substituted styrenes (M2). Catalyst, Al(i-Bu)3/TiCl4 temp., 60°C [200]. 

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For co-oxidation of nuclear-substituted styrenes, Table I shows a consistently decreasing rarh product as the polarity difference increases in pairs of substituted styrenes, the minimum value being about 0.4. This effect cannot be steric and must be polar. The polar effects could be caused by transmission of substituent effects through the O—O link, to some tendency of different styrenes to associate in solution—i.e., actual... 

The nuclear substituted methyl styrenes have been the subject of much study and of these poly(vinyl toluene) (i.e. polymers of m- and /7-methylstyrenes) has found use in surface coatings. The Vicat softening point of some nuclear substituted methyl styrenes in given in Table 16.8. 

The aromatic mono-olefins have been studied more extensively and intensively than any other class of monomers. Styrene, in particular, has received much attention, but nuclear and side-chain substituted styrenes are still largely unexplored, except in regard to copolymerization. The only other aromatic monomers which have been studied in any detail are a-methylstyrene [1] and 1,1-diphenylethylene and some of its derivatives [10]. It is strange that even readily available monomers, such as indene [80] and acenaphthylene [54b, 81], have hardly been investigated. 

The consistency of these results suggests that while nuclear substitution in styrenes affects their reactivity toward peroxy radicals by a maximum factor of only about 3 (ra and rb values), the effect on the selectivity of the peroxy radicals (rarb products) is nearly as great. 

Gradually adding 25 g of dioxan dibromide to 10.4 g of styrene with cooling in running water and subsequently diluting the mixture with water affords 100% of styrene dibromide without any nuclear substitution.73... 

Results of Dulog, Kern et ah, and a few others (27, 31) are summarized in Table I. From the ra values, toward the unsubstituted styrene-peroxy radical, the most reactive styrene—p-methoxystyrene—is three times as reactive as the least reactive, m-nitrostyrene. Thus, the best electron donor shows the highest reactivity (lowest enthalpy of activation) toward the electron-accepting styrene-peroxy radical. The deviations from unity of the rarb products measure the effects of substitution on the selectivity of the peroxy radicals. These products depart more from unity with increasing differences in the electron-donating and accepting properties of the nuclear substituents. The same trends appear within the other styrene combinations. 

The photolysis of triarylsulphonium salts yields diarylsulphides and products of lateral nuclear shift reactions which are ortho, meta, and para aryl substituted diaryldisulphides such as (342). A by-product in these reactions is a proton because of this these reactions have been applied to photoinitiation of cationic polymerisations. A full paper describing a detailed study of the reaction mechanism has been published.In addition, the product distribution obtained by photolysis of triphenylsulphonium salts in films of the polymer of 4-(tert -butoxycarbonyloxy)styrene has been compared with that obtained in solution.The synthesis of some new triarylsulphonium salts and their application for photoinitiation of cationic polymerisation has also been reported.The formation of the products arising from lateral nuclear shifts in sulphonium salts occurs under direct photolysis but not under triplet sensitisation. 

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