The influence of lithium tert-butoxide (tBuOLi) and of lithium chloride on the oligomerization of tert-butyl acrylate (tBuA) initiated by tert-butyl α-lithioisobutyrate (tBiB-Li) was investigated. These additives affect both the kinetics and the product distribution. Whereas the addition of LiCl leads to a narrower molecular-weight distribution (MWD) the presence of tBuOLi induces broader MWD's, characterized by a very high fraction of the dimer. Both additives decrease the rates of propagation to different degrees. These effects are discussed on the basis of the formation of aggregates and adducts, the lithiated dimer having a higher tendency to form aggregates than the other oligomers. Th…

Equilibria in the anionic polymerization of methyl methacrylate, 1. Chain-length dependence of the rate and equilibrium constants

The rate constants of polymerization and cyclization and the equilibrium constants of polymerization are calculated from kinetic data of the anionic oligomerization of methyl methacrylate initiated by methyl α-lithioisobutyrate in THF at 25°C, and of the “disproportionation” of living oligomers. The numeric method reported earlier was improved. The rate constants of cyclization decrease with chain-length, due to increasing steric hindrance. The rate constants of polymerization depend on the concentration of active centres, due to the formation of associates. Rate and equilibrium constants of polymerization decrease with chain-length. This is discussed in terms of intramolecular coordination…

The role of association/complexation equilibria in the anionic polymerization of (meth)acrylates

The kinetics of the anionic polymerization of methacrylates and acrylates in THF as well as the MWD of the polymers formed depend on the concentration of active centres and of additives, such as lithium halides and lithium alkoxides. These results are discussed on basis of multiple equilibria between non-associated, associated, and complexed ion pairs which are supported by viscosity measurements. The position of these equilibria determines the rate of polymerization, whereas the dynamics of interconversion determine the polydispersity. In the absence of additives the rate of monomer addition to non-associated ion pairs competes with the rate of association. Addition of lithium chloride mai…

The decomposition reactions of the lithiated dimer, trimer, and tetramer of methyl methacrylate (MMA) in THF at 25°C were investigated. The decomposition of the lithiated dimer proceeds via depolymerization to lithiated monomer and MMA, addition of MMA to residual lithiated dimer, resulting the trimer (“disproportionation” of the dimer), and subsequent autocondensation of the products. The lithiated trimer almost exclusively undergoes cyclo-autocondensation, whereas for the lithiated tetramer both reactions proceed simultaneously to a remarkable degree. It is shown that the relative rate of autocondensation, which is highly dependent on the degree of polymerization of the oligomer, controls…

The kinetics and the molecular weight distributions (MWD) in the anionic polymerization of tert-butyl acrylate (tBuA) in tetrahydrofuran at 23 ± 3°C were investigated. Tert-butyl α-lithioisobutyrate (tBiB-Li) was used as the initiator in the absence and presence of the additives lithium chloride and lithium tert-butoxide (tBuOLi). A flow tube reactor was used which allowed very rapid mixing of reagents, within milliseconds. The polymerization is extremely fast, half-lives being 0,01 s for the system without additive, 0,05 s for LiCl and 3 s for tBuOLi as an additive. The rate of termination was estimated from the strong UV absorption of the enolized β-oxoester end group formed. The number-a…

The effect of lithium tert-butoxide (t-BuOLi) on rate constants and equilibrium constants of reactions involved in the initial stage of the anionic polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) in tetrahydrofuran, initiated by methyl α-lithioisobutyrate (P) was investigated at 23 ± 3°C. Addition of t-BuOLi decreases the rate constants of initiation and propagation by one order of magnitude; the rate constants of termination by cyclization decrease by two orders of magnitude. This leads to an overall tenfold higher preference of propagation with respect to termination and explains the favourable effect of alkoxide in the polymerization reported earlier. Within experimental error, the equilibri…

The anionic polymerization of tert-butyl acylate (tBuA) initiated by tert-butyl α-lithioisobutyrate was investigated in THF at 25°C. The individual oligomers were isolated and characterized by UV, IR and NMR spectroscopy. The distribution of products was determined in the range of reaction times 0,02 s ≤ t ≤ 1800 s. The oligomerization is extremely fast. Even after 0,02 s at -30°C, no residual monomer could be detected. After short reaction times the reaction mixture almost exclusively consists of linear oligomers of tBuA. This indicates that there is no termination reaction by Claisen condensation during polymerization. Nevertheless, the molecular weight distribution is rather broad (Mw/Mn…