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C 1 -OFFICE OF NAVAL RESEARCH CONTRACT N00014-94-1-0101 R&T Code 31321075 Technical Report No. 18 FROM "LIVING" CARBOCATIONIC TO "LIVING" RADICAL POLYMERIZATION by Krzysztof Matyjaszewski Published DTIC inthe ELECTE JUN3A& IsJ J. Macromol. Sci., Chem., A3,989 ( 994 )S 8 Carnegie Mellon University Department of Chemistry 4400 Fifth Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15213 DTIC QUALITY INSpECED 2 June 30, 1994 Reproduction in whole or in part is permitted for any purpose of the United States Government This document has been approved for public release and sale; its distribution is unlimited. $94 t-20030 94 6 29 0 89

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Page 1: CONTRACT N00014-94-1-0101 FROM LIVING CARBOCATIONIC … · 2011. 5. 13. · LIVING CARBOCATIONIC POLYMERIZATION Progress in the cationic polymerization of alkenes can be ascribed

C 1 -OFFICE OF NAVAL RESEARCH

CONTRACT N00014-94-1-0101

R&T Code 31321075

Technical Report No. 18

FROM "LIVING" CARBOCATIONIC TO "LIVING" RADICAL POLYMERIZATION

by

Krzysztof Matyjaszewski

Published DTICinthe ELECTE

JUN3A& IsJ

J. Macromol. Sci., Chem., A3,989 ( 994)S 8Carnegie Mellon University

Department of Chemistry4400 Fifth Avenue

Pittsburgh, PA 15213

DTIC QUALITY INSpECED 2

June 30, 1994

Reproduction in whole or in part is permitted for any purpose of the United States Government

This document has been approved for public release and sale;its distribution is unlimited.

$94 t-20030• 94 6 29 0 89

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- A 3 : *.. .t ' Z N *44 '1~..'. ,r024102 l 4'ol-Olll. 41..J -4 - fI - ý . ýqe -. . .. Clk f''"'1* .0fP10 ,je t.St . . . .I.4 150

,,. AGENCY USE ON'L (Leave lank) j2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED1J une 30, 1994 Technical Report # 184. TITLE AND SUBTITLE S. FUNDING NUMBERS

"From Living" Carbocationic to "Living" 'jicalPolymerization N00014-94-1-01I01

6. AUTHOR(S)

Krzysztof Matyjaszewski

7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADORESS(ES) S. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION

Carnegie Mellon University REPORT NUMBER

Department of Chemistry N00014-94-1-01014400 Fifth AvenuePittsburgh, PA 15213

9. SPONSORING/ MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND AOORESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING /MONITORING

Department of the Navy AGENCY REPORT NUMBER

Office of Naval Research800 North Quincy StreetArlington, VA 22217-5000 Technical Report # 18

11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

J. Macromol. Sci., Chem., A31, 989 (1994)

1Za. DISTRIBUTION I AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE

13. ABSTRACT (Maximum 200 words)

"Living" carbocationic polymerization is compared to "living" radical process.Similarities and differences are discussed. "Living" radical polymerization of vinylacetate and methyl methacrylate to provide polymers with controlled molecular weightsand narrow molecular weight distribution (Mw/Mn<1. 2) are presented.

14. SUBJECT TERMS 15. NUMBER OF PAGES

16. PRICE CODE

17. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 11. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 19. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 20. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT

OF REPORT OF THIS PAGE OF ABSTRACTClassified Classified Classified UL

NSN 7540-01-280-5500 Standard Form 298 (Rev. 249)Pracnbd by A" lid In-,$2JH.1O2

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• ASTER PROOFS

J.M.S.-PURE APPL. CHEM., A31(8), pp. 989-1000 (1994)

i3:.?3 L ? it/ /

FROM "LIVING" CARBOCATIONIC TO / -"LIVING" RADICAL POLYMERIZATION

KRZYSZTOF MATYJASZEWSKI

Department of ChemistryCarnegie Mellon University4400 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213

ABSTRACT

"Living" carbocationic polymerization is compared to the "living"radical process. Similarities and differences are discussed. "Living" radi-cal polymerization of vinyl acetate and methyl methacrylate to providepolymers with controlled molecular weights and narrow molecularweight distribution (M./M. < 1.2) are presented.

INTRODUCTION

Living polymerization enables preparation of well-defined polymers with con-trolled macromolecular and sometimes even supramolecular structure. Polymerswith novel topologies such as cyclic, star, and ladder as well as various types ofcopolymers which may microphase separately have been prepared via living pro-ceases. Living polymerization requires high chemoselectivity when chain growth isnot disturbed by any chain-breaking reactions. If initiation is fast, then the'degreeof polymerization equals the ratio of the consumed monomer to the introducedinitiator:

DP. - A[MJ/[Ilo (1)

Living polymerization is usually observed in chain processes with polar grow-ins species such as ions or organometalic compounds. Carbocations are very reac-tive, and in addition to the eectrophilic addition to double bonds (propagation),may also participate in various side reactions such as elimination (transfer), substi-

989

Ceopyrgt 0 1994 by Marcel Dekker, Inc.

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990 MATYJASZEWSKI

tution (termination), and rearrangements. Due to instability of the growing carbo-cations, the cationic polymerization of alkenes has been considered for a long timeas impossible to realize in the living system [1). However, very extensive researchcarried out by Professor Kennedy and other researchers in the ficid of carbocationicpolymerization led to the preparation of well-dermed polymers and copolymers bythe cationic process (2, 3).

In ionic polymerizations, chain ends do not react with one another because ofelectrostatic repulsions. On the other hand, free radicals, which are the growingspecies in radical polymerization, very easily react with one another via couplingand/or disproportionation. Thus, termination as a chain-breaking process cannotbe avoided in radical polymerization. Nevertheless, as demonstrated in this paper,under appropriate conditions it is possible to prepare well-defined polymers b .,0• ' A".pp m. -•"...vinX. radical polymerization, too. We will discuss in more dctail thepreparation of well-defined poly(vinyl acetate) and poly(methyl methacrylate) asexamples of this process.

CONCEPT OF LIVING POLYMERIZATION

Living polymerization is classically defined as aVreaion during which notermination and transfer occur, with the consequence that all macromolecules inthe system are capable of growth as long as monomer is present [4]. But since nopolymerization is perfectly living, it was proposed that "polymers are considered tobe living if they retain their capacity of growth for a time needed for the completionof a desired task" [5). A ranking of the livingness of the various systems has beenproposed, based on the values of the ratios of the termination/transfer to thepropagation rate constant (k4/k, and k./kr) [6). This ranking enables the upperlimit of the DP of the well-defined polymer to be determined with the ratio of thecorresponding rate constants. If only a DP. - 100 is planned, the well-definedpolymer can be prepared even at the ks/k, - 10-. mol/L ratio, but if the goal is aDPA - 10,000, this value should be nearer to 10-6 mol/L.

Control of molecular weights in the living proces as defmed in Eq. (1), addi-tionally requires fast initiatio If initiation is much slower than propagation, thenhigher than expected (Eq. 1) degrees of polymerization will be observed.

In ionic reactions, active species with various reactivities coexist (free ions,ion pairs, aggregates, covalent species, etc.). If they propagate simultaneously butwith different rate constants, then polymodal molecular weight distribution may 'ion Forresult. The polydisperity in that case will depend on the rate of the exchange TA&Ibetween these species. In the case of the exchange being faster than propagation, ý.J[very narrow (Poisson) distribution is egicted. .aiced

Thus, the concept of living polymation allows the presence of species with £. ctlonvarious reactivities and, in the extreme cue, even entirely dormant (inactive) spe-des. Polymers with low po con be produced if exch.nge between theactive and dormant speches Is fast.

In real systems, chain-breaking reactions do occur and cannot be entirely bavoided; bimolecular termination between growing radicals might be the beat exam- -lability Codespie. On the other hand, these nonliving systems may sill provide well-defined - -±1 avi/or

• lug.St J8peelal1. :'4

r - Er

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"LIVING" RADICAL POLYMERIZATION 991

polymers if the appropriate reaction conditions are choscn. We therefore refer tothese systems as apparently living or "living" systems. A "

LIVING CARBOCATIONIC POLYMERIZATION

Progress in the cationic polymerization of alkenes can be ascribed to a betterunderstanding of the reaction mechanism and to the correct choice of initiator,additives, and other reaction conditions. The main four characteristic features ofcarbocationic polymerization are discussed below.

1. A positive charge in carbocations is located mainly on the s92 hybridized Catom (20 to 30%), but a significant amount of charge is also located on the f-Hatoms (5 to 10%). Thus, transfer is the major chain-breaking reaction due to thefacile elimination of P-H atoms from the growing carbocations. Reactions carriedout in the absence of basic components (counterions, solvent, additives) providebetter defined systems due to the suppression of unimolecular (spontaneous) trans-fer. However, transfer to monomer still exists and can be reduced only at suffi-ciently low temperatures. The proportion of chains marked by transfer increaseswith conversion and with the degree of polymerization (DP). In the case of transferto monomer, the ratio of the observed number-average DP to the theoretical DPT(no transfer) decreases with conversion p according to the following expression:

DP/Dpr = 1/(1 + (k.Wkr)'[MW([l6'p) (2)

As shown in Fig. 1, the ratio DP/DPT decreases monotonously with conver-sion. The drop is most pronounced for the highest value of the parameter a =(ktirtdkp) -MIJIJ.

Figure 2 show how polydispersity of the polymers obtained at complete mono-mer conversion changes with the value of parameter a. A semilogarithmic scale wasused to better visualize the dependence of polydispersity on a. The calculations werebased on the approach presented in Reference 7.

It seems that well-defined systems can be easily obtained for a < 0.1. Thevalue of a depends on the ratio of rate constants of transfcr to propagation andalso on the ratio of the concentration of monomer to that of the initiator. The ratioof the rate constants is given by "chemistry," i.e., mechanism, counterion, mono-mer, solvent, temperature, etc. However, the concentration of initiator can be easilycontrolled and "poor" systems with, e.g., experimental DP twice lower than theoret-ically expected can be converted to well-defined systems by increasing the concentra-tion of initiator by 10- or 100-fokl. This necessitates the synthesis of shorter chains.For sufficiently short chains, transfer may not be noticed. Thus, degrees of polym-erization corresponding to those described by Eq. (1) may be obtained if initiationis fast in comparison with propagation and DP is low enough not to be marked bytransfer. This requires relatively high concentrations of the initiator ([11o a 10-mol/L for ku/k - I0'and(M m I tol/L).

2. Carbocatious react very rapidly with aikenes (/0 - lOs mol'.L-s' at-20C) [11. Thus, if all growing chains will be in the form of carbocations, andthe concentration of the Initiator will be high ([In. a 10-2 moV/L), then polymeriza-tion may be finithed in a fraction of a second and may be difficult to control ormay even be explosive. In order to reduce polymerization rates, a dynamic equilib-

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992 MATYJASZEWSKI

04

0 15 50 too

FI.I.Efetof fte transferto in01lU'er 0 polyamwfl degrees a a functiW'

of coaverfw" for vadusO a eei~"

riuU etees racive carbocatiO ns , and dormant species was uidd. WCiU-

izatiof of covalent species In revrsble bfor derhwf o .nW i CS rovides we

deind ysCISwith the n umlber 0f 2bil bM ) de v~d by the total PoiC fl 7

of growing and doriia3ft sp~SP (111a lOs p resnt in Mut lwihtertspo i1

to the, concentration of carboaO~ain rsn ~vr o mU~ ~ 4 I-

1.5~

10.01 0. 1 t

a(at fOU convetsiofl)

we. d fff~ of fth trafer to 3 0ODOP an poly"C'Sk"1 at .omPWC coIWP'oa

tot variu oa" tI

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"LIVING" RADICAL POLYMERIZATION 993

-C-X +LA:Nu -w -C-NiLAX -ft-C.NI + LAX'N•. ?II .' ,

- C-X +LA • -C-,IAAX" -- C+ + LAX'

k ,' (3)

Covalent species may ionize reversibly in the presence of Lewis acids. Nucleo-philes, such as ethers, esters, amines, sulfides, etc., may form reversibly onium ionswith carbocations but they may also complex with Lewis acids. These complexesmay have the amphiphilic character; they will have weaker Lewis acidity than theoriginal acid and also weaker nucleophilicity than the original nucleophiles, andtherefore may affect the corresponding equilibria and consequently the rate con-stants.

3. Values of the equilibrium constants will affect the polymerization rates, butvalues of the rate constants of the exchange process will affect polydispersities. Thesynthesis of polymers with narrow molecular weight distributions will require thatthe rate constants of the conversion of growing carbocations to the dormant species(covalent or onium ions) be comparable to the rate constants of propagation. Poly-dispersities will decrease with an increme of the chain length because more ex-changes per chain length are possible [9, 10. This happens very often in carbocatio-nic polymerization when transfer is not the dominating side reaction.

4. Molecular weights and polydispersides also depend on the relative rate ofinitiation. In classic carbocationic systems (without equilibration of growing anddormant species), initiation is usually slow. This is the case in initiation by stablecarbocations (e.g., trityl and tropyiium salts) as well as Lewis acid/advantitiousmoisture initiating systems. Equilibration between dormant and active speciesallows enhancement of the initiation rate. Some nucleophiles may deactivate grow-ing species stronger than initiator and also may ionize (aclivate) initiator moreefficiently than growing species. For example, cumyl halides are efficient initiatorsin the polymerization of isobutene and atyrene catalyzed by various Lewis acidsbecause they ionize better than the corresponding anicromolecular halides derivedfrom styrene and isobutene. Similarly, weakly basic but nucleophilic sulfides deacti-vate growing species stronger than protoic acids [II, 121.

Thus, the role of all components used in living carbocationic polymerizationis to improve the solution of problems typical for the classic process: to decreasethe influence of transfer by the low basicity and a reduction of the polymerizationdegree, to decrease the overall polynmesization rate by the equilibration betweenactive and dormant species, to accelerate the exchange reactions by more nucleo-philic and more nucleophugic species, and to enhance the relative rate of initiation.

* The same idea can be applied to a radical process. Well-defined polymers canbe also prepared when molecular wed t are decreased, when exchange betweenactive and dormant species is establihd, when the exchange is fast, and wheninitiation is rapid. Before demoutradag how this can be accomplished, typicalfeatures of radical polymerztion will be reviewed.

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994 MATYJASZEWSKI

BASIS OF RADICAL POLYMERIZATION

Radical polymerization includes four elementary reactions.1. Slow initiation via the homolytic cleavage of a peroxide, diazo, or other

similar compounds; k4 < 10-9 s-';

I--1 - 21-"V'- (4) •

2. Relatively fast reaction of primary radicals with monomer to generate thefirst growing species; because kd <kj[M], the decomposition remains the rate-determining step:

I* + M P1(5)3. Fast propagation; k. 10j mol-'-L's-•:

4. Very fast termination between growing radicals via coupling or dispropor-tionation;k, 107mol-.L-s-':

P. + P P8 ,./(P8 + P.-H) (7)

Transfer reactions are usually less important unless transfer agents are added.A synthesis of high molecular weight polymers requires slow initiation to

produce a low momentary concentration of growing radicals ([P']4.-' 10-7 molfL)which terminate in a bimolecular process. The ratio of the rate of propagationto that of termination ("ivingness") decreases with [P'lecause propagation is a j, •first-order process but termination is a second-order process with respect to [P']The proportion of chains marked by termination increases with chain length. There-fore, well-defined polymers from radical polymerization may be formed only ifchains are relatively short and the concentration of free radicals is low enough.These two requirements are in an apparent contradiction but can be accommodatedvia reversible deactivation of growing free radicals in a way similar to tie deactiva-tion of growing carbocations.

A

KIETICS OF UVING RADICAL POLYMERIZATION

Uving polymerization should provide well-defined polymers with a negligibleamount of chain breaking (< 5%) at high monomer conversion (>99%). In Fig. 1the top two curves correspond approximately to 5% deactivation of chains at 99%conversion wd 10% deactivation at 70% conversion. The behavior of radical sytems is differmt from that of cationic systems. The most important chain-breakingreaction is not transfer but termination. From the point of view of the synthesisof well-defined polyme, block copolymers, and end-functional polymers, anychain-breaking reaction Is disallowed. However, termination and transfer lead to

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"LIVING" RADICAL POLYMERIZATION 995

different deviations from the behavior of ideal systems (either lower rates or lowerDP).

The synthesis of well-defined polymers by radical polymerization requires alow stationary concentration of growing radicals which should be reversibly deacti-

U vated to provide a relatively large number of macromolecules. There arc two waysof deactivation of growing radical P. The first one is with a scavenging radicalR': R" should react with P" but not with monomer (M), and should not initiatepolymerization. The second approach is based on the nonradical scavenger whichprovides reversibly persistent ("dormant") radicals. To control molecular weights ina sufficient way, the initiation rate should be comparable to that of propagationand, therefore, the structure of the initiator should be similar to that of the dormantspecies P-R. In the first system the covalent adduct homolytically cleaves to P"and R" with the rate constant of initiation k, and regenerates with the rate constantof recombination k,:

k,*P-R * -k,>P + R' (8)

Assuming a steady state for the concentration of dormant chains:

- dIP-R] = kj[P-R) - k,.[P][R] - 0 (9)

• tP'st = k,[P-R-/(kjR,]) (10)

S• The recombination of [P'] with [R] is not considered to be chain breaking becauseit is reversible. Irreversible termination produces entirely inactive chains by either

" coupling or disproportionation of growing radicals P. The statilonary concentrationof growing radicals is nearly constant because although some chains are terminated,the radicals are easily reformed from the large pool of dormant species. Neverthc-less, some chains will terminate; 5% of the chains will irreversibly terminate aftertime (Ti):

0.05[P-RJo = k,[P],()

Monomer is consumed at a rate proportional to its concentration, that of thegrowing radicals, and to the rate constant of propagation k.:

- d[MJ/dt - k[P'][M (12)

99% of monomer will be consumed after time r,, which for a well-defined systemshould be comparable or shorter than the time when 5% of chains terminate ("):

In ([MW0.01[MJ.) = kP'p (13) -

Consequently.

[P'1([P-RI. s k,/oo0k, (14)

For the polymerization of styrene at 600C: k, - 102 M-'-s-', k, - 16'M-'-s-t [131. To make a polymer with DP - 100 in bulk (Wh - 10 mol-L"),"the concentration of the initiator should be equal to [P-R] =IMWJP = 10mol L-' and the stationary radical concentration:

[P''A= [P--Rg.k,/kl00 10- mol.L' (15)

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996 MATYJASZEWSKI

At such a low [P'J., a 99% conversion will be reached after -4 x 10' s,which is more than I month. However, the k,/k ratio for other monomers, such asvinyl acetate or acrylates, is higher than for styrene (30 Pv'6 times, respectively)1131. This allows an increase of the concentration of growing radicals at the samelevel of chain breaking and decreases the reaction time to approximately I day.

A comment should be added on the potential participation of solvent cageeffects. The homolytic cleavage of dormant chains and a very fast recombinationof the growing radical with a scavenger might occur within a solvent cagc. A smallmonomer molecule may diffuse into the solvent cage relatively faster than thegrowing radical, leading to a ren ?ppigW k./lk ratio.than discussed before. ..This could allow synthesis of well-defined systems at higher stationary concentra-tions of radicals and shorter reaction times than in the "classic" systems withoutcontribution of the solvent cage.

The role of a scavenger of the growing radicals may also be played by aneutral species. In that casea stable adduct with an odd number of elcctrons (apersistent radical) is reversibly formed:

P, + X <___-> (P-X)} (16)

The kinetic requirements for this case are identical to those discussed pre-viously. This approach is best realized with organometallic compounds. However,some of them may have a high affinity toward hydrogen and may lead to theundesired and uncontrolled transfer [14, 15].

There are a few systems postulated as living radical ones in which growingradicals are reversibly deactivated by radical scavengers. The best results are in thethermal polymerization of styrene and methacrylate initiated with alkoxyamines[16, 171 or with alkyl dithiocarbamates [181. However, the former system requiresan excess of radicals and is based on thermoneutral transfcr; the latter one isaccompanied by various side reactions, including the evolution of CS2 (191.

R2N-C(S)-S" -, R2N + CS2 (17)

Growing radicals may react with dithiocarbamates end-groups in two differentways. By a transfer process as suggested by Otsu [18]:

R2N-C(S)-S-P, + P- - R2N-C(S)-S--P. + P. (18)and additionally by irreversibly forming bead-to-head end-groups and producingthiocarbamate radicals of low reactivity. The latter reaction, reported by Sigwalt, isvery important in the thwinpolymeization of acrylates [20,211.

R2N-C(S)-S-P. + P -, R2N-C(S)-S" + P., - P. (19)T polymerization of a in the presence of benzyl dithiocarbamate is A P O

slower (1) than spontaneous MdR-olymerization [20]. This means that degrada- A tOtive transfer is the main operating reaction.

LIVING POLYMERIZATION OF VINYL ACETATE A

The monomer vinyl acetate has been polymerized, at least so far, via a radicalmechanism. Thus, vinyl acetate is a very good test-monomer for a'livingeradical A,proces.

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"UVING" RADICAL POLYMERIZATION 997

The initiator is based on an organometallic compound which is complexed byligands and then activated by some stable (or not) radicals. Here we will describeresults with trilsobutylaluminum, complexed by 2,2'-dipyridyl (DPy) and activatedby,2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-l-piperidinyloxy (TEMPO). A typical composition is 1:1:2.Excess TEMPO (2:4) stops the reaction, thereby confirming the radical characterof the process. C213

Figure 3 presents three kinetic plots obtained at 200C in benzene at threedifferent concentrations of initiator. Straight lines in the semilogarithmic coordi-nates indicate first-order kinetics in the monomer. Thus, monomer is involved inthe rate-limiting step. The straight lines also indicate a constant concentration ofthe active species. This information, together with molecular weight data, provethat initiation is rapid and the contribution of termination is very low.

Figure 4 shows three typical plots of the evolution of molecular weights withconversion. Straight lines passing through the origin have been obtained. The mo-lecular weight distribution stays very low, usually below M,/M, < 1.3 (Fig. 5).

The highest obtained molecular weights were M. - 50,000. This limit is prob-ably not set by termination but rather by transfer, t4V:ial f.", a z•l• m.cC... -Z'h

The initiating system is quite complex and changes activity at various propor-tions of TEMPO. Polymerization occurs slowly even without TEMPO. PreliminaryEPR studies indicate the presence of radicals in the AI(iBu)3:DPy complex at thisstage. However, polymerization is slow and semilog plots are sigmtoidal, indicatingslow initiation. Molecular weights arc higher than predicted for living systems, asexpected for incomplete initiation. Polymerization is strongly accelerated in thepresence of two equivalents of TEMPO, and it is entirely inhibited by four equiva-lents of TEMPO. The initiator was prepared by mixing the organoaluminum com-pound with DPy (a strong red color was observed), and the TEMPO was addedwith the formation of a more intense color.

The maximum coordination number of aluminum is six. If three valences areoccupied by alkyl groups, two by DPy, only one TEMPO can be accommodated toform a stable delocalized radical:

0.8 ....

0.7

-0.6o .5

0.4

-- 0.3

0.2 0

0.1

00 5 10 15 20 25

time, h

FIG. 3. The kinetcs of the polymerization of vinyl acetate (IM. 2.5 molL) at20*C In CA at varWie concentrtion of the Initiator: (0) [14 - 0.30 moVL; (0) % -0.05 moL44 (0) [% - 0.01 moVL.

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998 MATYJASZEWSKI

10000

8000

Mn

6000

4000

2000

00 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 o.S 0.6 0.7 0.8

([Mla-[ M )/[ M

FIG. 4. The effect of conversion on molecular weights in the polymerization of vinylacetate in CPH,: (0) 600C, [Ile = 0.05 moaL; ( 6) [0C, 11[ = 0.30 nwol/L; (X) 20*C, ./ /[1] = 0.05 moVL. '

2......... ... ........ ........ *1""II-r

1.8

1.6

MIMw n

1.4

1.2

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8([MJ-o[M])/[MJo

FIG. 5. The effect of temperature and the concentration of the initiator on polydis-persities of poly(vinyl acetate) prepared in CA-I: (01) 606C, [1] = 0.05 mol/L; (0) 606C, V[I1, - 0.30 mol/L; (0) 200C, (hi = 0.05 moa'L. 0 V

R-(

(20)

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"LIVING" RADICAL POLYMERIZATION 999

The stable delocalized radical could be in equilibrium with a tiny amount of avery reactive radical R', capable of initiation and subsequent propagation. Betterresults with two equivalents of TEMPO may indicate better dclocalization of clec-trons within a persistent radical with two TEMPO ligands. The real natures of theactive and the dormant species are not yet prceisely known and will be the subjectof subsequent studies.

The kinetic results indicate that the reaction is first order in monomer, mean-ing that it is involved in the rate-determining step. The fractional order in the

, initiating system ('0.4) suggests that a radical C" is formed reversibly from thedormant species C-Z'. It is reactive enough to initiate polymerization and subse-quently to propagate:

C-Z" C" + Z (21)k,

"". +- M (22)

If we assume that the rate constants of ary reactio propagationand bimolecular termination in this particular system are similar to those in ahomogenous radical polymerization of vinyl acetate 1131, we may estimate the sta-tionary concentration of growing radicals:

din [Mi/dt = k = k'- [C], (23)[C], = k/k, - 10- mol/L (24)

This low estimated stationary concentration of growing radicals prevents bi-molecular termination and allows the preparation of well-defined polymers. We arecurrently investigating systems with different ligands and activators which providefaster overall polymerization and, presumably, a higher stationary concentration ofgrowing radicals. If these systems still remain well defined, with low polydispersityand no termination, this would indicate that the k1k, ratio is apparently higherthan deduced from the homogenous systems. If the reaction occurs in a solventcage, it is possible to imagine that a monomer penetrates the cage relatively fasterthan another growing radical.

Polymerization of methyl methacrylate with the same initiating system is notcontrolled. Very rapid polym ation and higher than predicted molecular weightsare obtained. However, manipulation of the substituents and ligands on aluminumallows the preparation of well-defined systems. Thus, instead of the AIR3/Dpycomplex, an organoal amide, RAI(NPh2)2, could be used. This compoundalone leads to slow and uncontrolled anionk-coordinative polymerization of methylmethacrylate at ambient temperatures, but in the presence of TEMPO it provideswell-defined poly(methyl methacrylates). 'L31

CONCLUSIONS

The concept of revrsible deactivation of the growing species which led to thesuccessful synthesis of well-defined polymers via carbocationic polymerization hasbeen applied to radical polymerization. Polymerization of vinyl acetate and methylniethacrylate In the presence of organoaluminum compounds activated by stable

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1000 MATYJASZEWSKI

radicals provides polymers with narrow molecular weight dstributions (MV/MU <1.3). The efficiency of the initiating system depends on substituents and coordinatedligands around aluminum, which should be adjusted for the corresponding mo-nomer.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Acknowledgment is made to th~ational Science Foundation, via the supportwithin Presidential Young Invcstigator Award to K.M., as wcdl as to Du Pont,Eastman Kodak, PPG Industries, and Xerox Corporation for the matching funds.

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