Vinyl ether radicals

Carbon dioxide has also proven to be an exemplary medium for the polymerization of TFE with perfluorinated alkylvinyl ether monomers containing sulfonyl fluoride such as CF2=CF0CF2CF(CF3)0CF2CF2S02F (PSEVPE). As seen in Table 13.2, the dramatic difference in the number of acid end groups between the commercial sample and those made in C02 indicates that chain-transfer processes stemming from vinyl ether radical arrangement are not nearly as prevalent in C02 as in conventional systems. 

Vinyl ether radical-cations also react in a radical substitution fashion with an adjacent electron rich benzene ring [59]. However the reaction products from simple examples such as 33 themselves readily undergo a further anodic oxidation... 

While it is a potentially useful anodic C-C bond-forming reaction, the bimolecular anodic dimerization of vinyl ethers in methanol generally proceeds in only modest yield under controlled-potential conditions [145]. More recently, the analogous anodic cycliza-tion of bis-enol ether substrates (XCVII) was shown to give the corresponding cyclized bis-acetals (XCVIII) in reasonable yield, although nonstereoselectively [Eq. (62)]. As in the bimolecular case, anodically generated vinyl ether radical cations are presumably the reactive intermediates in the process [146]. 

Vinyl ether radical-cation cyclizations using appended electron-rich aryl rings as the nucleophilic component have also been explored [149]. The nature of the products obtained was found in part to be a function of the position of electron donors on the... 

A different mechanism, proceeding via reversible diepoxycarbinyl radical and vinyl ether radical intermediates has recently been proposed for generation of y-hydroxy- and y-oxo-alkenals including 4-HNE [68]. 

A second type of uv curing chemistry is used, employing cationic curing as opposed to free-radical polymerization. This technology uses vinyl ethers and epoxy resins for the oligomers, reactive resins, and monomers. The initiators form Lewis acids upon absorption of the uv energy and the acid causes cationic polymerization. Although this chemistry has improved adhesion and flexibility and offers lower viscosity compared to the typical acrylate system, the cationic chemistry is very sensitive to humidity conditions and amine contamination. Both chemistries are used commercially. 

Cationic Polymerization. For decades cationic polymerization has been used commercially to polymerize isobutylene and alkyl vinyl ethers, which do not respond to free-radical or anionic addition (see Elastomers, synthetic-BUTYLRUBBEr). More recently, development has led to the point where living cationic chains can be made, with many of the advantages described above for anionic polymerization (27,28). 

VEs can also copolymerize by free-radical initiation with a variety of comonomers. According to the and rvalues of 0.023 and —1.77 (isobutyl vinyl ether), VEs are expected to form ideal copolymers with monomers of similar and e values or alternating copolymers with monomers such as maleic anhydride (MAN) that have high values of opposite sign (Q = 0.23 e = 2.25). 

Vinyl ethers can also be formulated with acryHc and unsaturated polyesters containing maleate or fumarate functionaHty. Because of their abiHty to form alternating copolymers by a free-radical polymeri2ation mechanism, such formulations can be cured using free-radical photoinitiators. With acryHc monomers and oligomers, a hybrid approach has been taken using both simultaneous cationic and free-radical initiation. A summary of these approaches can be found in Table 9. 

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. 

It is not possible to polymerise vinyl ethers by free-radical-initiated methods but, as with isobutylene polymers, it is possible to make polymers using Friedel-Crafts type catalysts. 

Simple alkyl radicals such as methyl are considered to be nonnucleophilic. Methyl radicals are somewhat more reactive toward alkenes bearing electron-withdrawing substituents than towards those with electron-releasing substituents. However, much of this effect can be attributed to the stabilizing effect that these substiments have on the product radical. There is a strong correlation of reaction rate with the overall exothermicity of the reaction. Hydroxymethyl and 2-hydroxy-2-propyl radicals show nucleophilic character. The hydroxymethyl radical shows a slightly enhanced reactivity toward acrylonitrile and acrolein, but a sharply decreased reactivity toward ethyl vinyl ether. Table 12.9 gives some of the reactivity data. 

Additions of elemental halogens to unsaturated compounds are among the most common preparations of halogenated fluoroorganics. The transformations are usually fairly clean and proceed in good yields. Besides the numerous examples of halogen addition tofluoroalkenes and fluoroalkyl-substituted alkenes, additions to perfliioropropyl vinyl ether [2] and fluormated styrenes [7, 4] have been reported. Both ionic and free-radical processes occur (equations 1 and 2)... 

Thus, a mixture of simple carbonyls Me(CO)n and halides should behave as a photoinitiator of free radical polymerization. Many such systems have been found to function in this way. Complexes formed by irradiation of Fe(CO)5 in the presence of a vinyl monomer (M) (such as MMA, styrene, vinyl acetate, propylene, and vinyl ether) have been studied by Koerner Von Grustrof and colleagues [12,13] and shown to have the chemical struc-... 

AA sec acrylic acid abstraction sec hydrogen atom transfer abstraction v,v addition and micleophilicity 35 by aikoxy radicals 34-5, 124-5, 392 by alkoxycarbonyloxy radicals 103,127-8 by alkyl radicals 34 5, 113, 116 by f-amyloxy radicals 124 by arenethiyl radicals 132 by aryl radicals 35, 118 by benzovloxy radicals 35, 53, 120, 126 wilh MM a" 53, 120 by /-butovy radicals 35, 53, 55, 124 solvent effects 54, 55. 123 with alkenes 122 3 with ally I acrylates 122 wilh AMS 120, 123 wilh BMA 53, 123 with isopropenvl acetate 121 with MA 120 with MAN 121 with MMA 53, 55, 120.419 with VAc 121 with vinyl ethers 123... 

Two pieces of direct evidence support the manifestly plausible view that these polymerizations are propagated through the action of car-bonium ion centers. Eley and Richards have shown that triphenyl-methyl chloride is a catalyst for the polymerization of vinyl ethers in m-cresol, in which the catalyst ionizes to yield the triphenylcarbonium ion (C6H5)3C+. Secondly, A. G. Evans and Hamann showed that l,l -diphenylethylene develops an absorption band at 4340 A in the presence of boron trifluoride (and adventitious moisture) or of stannic chloride and hydrogen chloride. This band is characteristic of both the triphenylcarbonium ion and the diphenylmethylcarbonium ion. While similar observations on polymerizable monomers are precluded by intervention of polymerization before a sufficient concentration may be reached, similar ions should certainly be expected to form under the same conditions in styrene, and in certain other monomers also. In analogy with free radical polymerizations, the essential chain-propagating step may therefore be assumed to consist in the addition of monomer to a carbonium ion... 

A polymeric composition for reducing fluid loss in drilling muds and well cement compositions is obtained by the free radical-initiated polymerization of a water-soluble vinyl monomer in an aqueous suspension of lignin, modified lignins, lignite, brown coal, and modified brown coal [705,1847]. The vinyl monomers can be methacrylic acid, methacrylamide, hydroxyethyl acrylate, hydroxypropyl acrylate, vinylacetate, methyl vinyl ether, ethyl vinyl ether, N-methylmethacrylamide, N,N-dimethylmethacrylamide, vinyl sulfonate, and additional AMPS. In this process a grafting process to the coals by chain transfer may occur. 

To conclusively disprove the involvement of the chromanol methide radical, the reaction of a-tocopherol with dibenzoyl peroxide was conducted in the presence of a large excess of ethyl vinyl ether used as a solvent component. If 5a-a-tocopheryl benzoate (11) was formed homolytically according to Fig. 6.6, the presence of ethyl vinyl ether should have no large influence on the product distribution. However, if (11) was formed heterolytically according to Fig. 6.9, the intermediate o-QM 3 would be readily trapped by ethyl vinyl ether in a hetero-Diels-Alder process with inverse electron demand,27 thus drastically reducing the amount of 11 formed. Exactly the latter outcome was observed experimentally. In fact, using a 10-fold excess of ethyl vinyl ether relative to a-tocopherol and azobis(isobutyronitrile) (AIBN) as radical... 

FIGURE 6.9 Confirmed heterolytic formation pathway for 5a-a-tocopheryl benzoate (11) without involvement of 5a-C-centered radicals and its proof by trapping of ortho-quinone methide 3 with ethyl vinyl ether to pyranochroman 13. Shown are the major products of the reaction of a-tocopherol (1) with dihenzoyl peroxide. 

However, not all of the vinyloxyphosphazene monomers will undergo radical polymerization) those with amino substituents are unreac-tive. The i C nmr data indicate that these species electronically resemble vinyl ethers (which do not undergo radical polymerization) whereas the reactive derivatives resemble vinyl acetate. These data demonstrate an excellent example of electronic effect transmission in cyclophosphazene systems. 

Methylpropene can be made to continue the process to yield high polymers—cationic polymerisation—but most simple alkenes will go no further than di- or tri-meric structures. The main alkene monomers used on the large scale are 2-methyIpropene (— butyl rubber ), and vinyl ethers, ROCH=CH2 (— adhesives). Cationic polymerisation is often initiated by Lewis acid catalysts, e.g. BF3, plus a source of initial protons, the co-catalyst, e.g. traces of HzO etc. polymerisation occurs readily at low temperatures and is usually very rapid. Many more alkenes are polymerised by a radical induced pathway, however (p. 320). 

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