Transfer agents, in polymerization

A potential problem for this work is active center termination due to reactions with the ethers, i.e., metallation. it has been reported (13) that polystyryllithium undergoes a moderately rapid termination reaction at 20°C in the presence of ani-sole or the ethylanisole isomers. These authors, however, did not recognize that toluene, their solvent of choice, is known (22,23,24,25,26) to act as a transfer agent in polymerizations involving alkali metals. (More recent results (27,28,29) have verified these observations regarding the lithium counter-ion. n-Butyllithium has also been shown (30) to react with toluene. 

A very efficient transfer agent in polymerizations of styrene, vinyl acetate and methyl methacrylate is CBr4. 

Vandenberg has shown that H2 is an efficient transfer agent in polymerizations of ethylene, propene and styrene with TiCl4 + iso-Bu3Al (Et,AlCl, Et,Al) [76],... 

Table 10.1. Approximate transfer constants of selected transfer agents in polymerization of styrene, methyl methacrylate, and vinyl acetate at 60°C (averaged and rounded values from Eastmond [52]).

Radical addition-fragmentation processes have been exploited in synthetic organic chemistry since the early 1970 s. Ally transfer reactions with allyl stannancs and the Barton-McCombic deoxygenation process with xanthates arc two examples of reactions known to involve a S[j2 mechanism. However, the first reports of addition-fragmentation transfer agents in polymerization appeared in the... 

The use of transfer agents in polymerization reactions permits one to obtain macromonomers. The following scheme shows the synthesis of MMA macromonomer by using thioglycolic acid as a transfer agent, and reaction with glycidyl methacrylate ... 

Chain Transfer. A number of materials act as tme transfer agents in THF polymerization notable examples are dialkyl ethers and orthoformates. In low concentrations, water behaves as a transfer agent, and hydroxyl end groups are produced. The oxygen of dialkyl ethers are rather poor nucleophiles compared to THF and are therefore not very effective as transfer agents. On the other hand, orthoformates are effective transfer agents and can be used to produce alkoxy-ended PTHFs of any desired molecular weight (169). 

Another concern, is the potential reactivity of 10 as a transfer agent under polymerization conditions (see 3.3.1.1.4).103 Tetramethylsuccinonitrile (9) appears to be essentially inert under polymerization conditions. However, the compound is reported to be toxic and may be a problem in polymers used in food contact applications.1" 30 Methacrylonitrile (MAN) formed by disproportionation readily copolymerizes.7"34 The copolymerized MAN may affect the thermal stability of polymers. A suggestion103 that copolymerized MAN may be a "weak link" in PS initiated with AIBN has been disputed.14... 

Even in the absence of added transfer agents, all polymerizations may be complicated by transfer to initiator (Sections 3.2.10 and 3.3), solvent (Section 6.2.2.5), monomer (Section 6.2.6) or polymer (Section 6.2.7). The significance of these transfer reactions is dependent upon the particular propagating radicals involved, the reaction medium and the polymerization conditions. Thiol-ene polymerization consists of sequential chain transfer and reinitiation steps and ideally no monomer consumption by propagation (Section 7.5.3). 

Traditionally thiols or mercaptans are perhaps the most commonly used transfer agents in radical polymerization. They undergo facile reaction with propagating (and other) radicals with transfer of a hydrogen atom and form a saturated chain end and a thiyl radical (Scheme 6.6). Some typical transfer constants are presented in Table 6.2. The values of the transfer constants depend markedly on the particular monomer and can depend on reaction conditions.4"1 44... 

Benzyl thionobenzoate (81) is believed to be ineffective as a transfer agent in MMA polymerization because of an unfavorable partition coefficient. PMMA is... 

Complexes of tetravalent zirconium with organic acids, such as citric, tartaric, malic, and lactic acids, and a complex of aluminum and citric acid have been claimed to be active as dispersants. The dispersant is especially useful in dispersing bentonite suspensions [288]. Polymers with amine sulfide terminal moieties are synthesized by using aminethiols as chain transfer agents in aqueous addition polymerizations. The polymers are useful as mineral dispersants [1182]. 

Figure 14.3.2 The molecular structure of dodecanethiol, a chain-transfer agent in a free-radical polymerization reaction.

Monofunctional and difunctional xanthates, shown in Scheme 30, were employed as chain transfer agents in the synthesis of block and triblock copolymers of acrylic acid, AA and acrylamide, AAm PAA-fr-PAAm, PAAm-fr-PAA-fo-PAAm and P(AA-sfaf-AAm)-fr-PAAm [81]. The polymerizations were conducted in aqueous solutions at 70 °C with 4,4 -azobis(4-cyanopentanoic acid) as the initiator. The yields were almost quantitative,... 

The addition of a large excess of bis(cj-alkenyl)zinc compounds to the TiC -catalyzed polymerization of propene resulted in an increased polymer yield, but a reduction in the molecular weights of the polymers.64 This suggests that the diorganozinc compounds are both co-catalysts and chain-transfer agents in this polymerization. The catalyst activity decreased in the order bis(3-butenyl)zinc < bis(7-octenyl)zinc < chlorodiethylaluminum. Bis(7-octenyl)zinc was co-polymerized with propene to afford hexylzinc side chains, whose zinc-carbon moieties were converted to vinyl groups by the addition of allyl bromide. 

Note 1 Reactive end-groups in telechelic polymers come from initiator or termination or chain transfer agents in chain polymerizations, but not from monomer(s) as in polycondensations and polyadditions. 

Polymers may be made by four different experimental techniques bulk, solution, suspension, and emulsion processes. They are somewhat self-explanatory. In bulk polymerization only the monomers and a small amount of catalyst is present. No separation processes are necessary and the only impurity in the final product is monomer. But heat transfer is a problem as the polymer becomes viscous. In solution polymerization the solvent dissipates the heat better, but it must be removed later and care must be used in choosing the proper solvent so it does not act as a chain transfer agent. In suspension polymerization the monomer and catalyst are suspended as droplets in a continuous phase such as water by continuous agitation. Finally, emulsion polymerization uses an emulsifying agent such as soap, which forms micelles where the polymerization takes place. 

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