Anionic polyaddition of 1,1‐diphenylethylene derivatives for novel hydrocarbon polymers

Abstract

The anionic polyaddition of methyl‐substituted 1,1‐diphenylethylene derivatives, catalyzed by lithium diisopropylamide, was examined. Polymerization of the monomer was conducted at 50°C in THF with the addition of diisopropylamine. NMR and MALDI‐TOF‐MS analyses of the obtained polymer indicate that polymerization proceeded via a polyaddition reaction, in other words, repetition of the lithium amide‐induced metalation reaction of the monomer at the methyl group and the subsequent nucleophilic addition reaction of the corresponding benzyllithium with the vinyl group in the monomer. On the other hand, the unsubstituted diphenylethylene monomer could not be polymerized by the same reaction condition. Consequently, the resulting polymer was indeed obtained by an anionic polyaddition mechanism. In conclusion, a novel hydrocarbon polymer containing a phenyl group in the main chain of the repeating unit was successfully obtained from a methyl‐substituted 1,1‐diphenylethylene monomer.