1982

N-Ethylaziridine (1) was polymerized in water with HCl as initiator and copolymerized with N-(2-hydroxyethyl)aziridine (2). Rapid propagation and termination reactions were observed. The maximum yield increases with the initiator concentration, whereas the molecular weight decreases. This is due to the difference in basicity between the tertiary N-atoms of the two monomers and the tertiary and the terminal secondary N-atoms of the polymers, which causes tranfer and termination reactions. Macrocycles with a side chain on a quaternary N-atom are formed. During the copolymerization, the more basic 1 is preferentially incorporated into the copolymer chain. The copolymerization parameters can be…