ISSN:
0025-116X
Keywords:
Chemistry
;
Polymer and Materials Science
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Physics
Notes:
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 distribution of products formed. The results indicated that the depolymerization of living PMMA is an important factor even at room temperature, potentially affecting the MWD of the polymers.
Additional Material:
3 Ill.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/macp.1984.021850904
