ABSTRACT:The selective polymerization of 2-isopropenyl-2-oxazoline possessing two polymerizable sites in molecule was studied. Due to a marked difference in .polymerizability between the isopropenyl and oxazoline groups, this monomer provided soluble linear polymers by radical and cationic polymerization. The former was poly(2-isopropenyl-2-oxazoline) with the oxazoline group as a side chain, and the latter N-methacryloyl polyethylenimine. The cross-linking reactions of reactive pendant groups in both polymers, which resulted from the radical and cationic polymerizations, gave cross-linked, insoluble products.KEY WORDS Difunctional Monomer / 2-Isopropenyl-2-oxazoline / Selective Polymerization/ Poly(2-isopropenyl-2-oxazoline) / N-Methacryloyl Polyethylenimine / Cross-linking Reaction / Gelation / 2-Isopropenyl-2-oxazoline is a difunctional monomer possessing an isopropenyl group and oxazoline heterocycle as the polymerizable sites in molecule. It is reported by T. Kagiya, et al.,1 and several other investigators 2 -5 that 2-oxazolines can be polymerized by cationic catalysts such as stannic chloride or boron trifluoride etherate to give N-acyl or N-aryloyl polyethylenimine. Kagiya, et al.,6 reported that 2-isopropenyl-2-oxazoline gave poly(2-isopropenyl-2-oxazoline) by radical vinyl polymerization.The purpose of this paper is to report the selective cationic and radical polymerization of 2-isopropenyl-2-oxazoline, and the cross-linking reaction of the linear polymer having a polymerizable functional group as pendant side chain.
EXPERIMENT AL
MaterialN-Methacryloylethylenimine was prepared from the Schotten-Baumann reaction of ethylenimine and methacryloyl chloride in acetone media at -30°C, according to the method of Watanabe, et al. 7 2-Isopropenyl-2-oxazoline (IPOZ) was obtained from the isomerization reaction of N-methacryloylethylenimine with the use of sodium iodide as catalyst at 60°C for 15 hours according to the literature,8 and purified by careful distillation under reduced pressure [bp 50.5°C (17.5 mm)]. The identification was carried out by the infrared and NMR spectra of the product.Adipic acid as a cross-linker and a,a'-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN), which were commercially available products (G. R. Grade reagents), were used without further purification.
Oxazolinium PerchloratePerchloric acid (70-% aqueous solution) ought not to be used as an initiator in the cationic polymerization of 2-oxazolines, because 2-oxazolines can be readily hydrolyzed. 9 The oxazolinium perchlorates of 2-isopropenyl-2-oxazoline and 2-phenyl-2-oxazoline as cationic initiators were prepared in the same manner as previously described. 11 The perchlorate salt of poly(2-isopropenyl-2-oxazoline) (Poly-IPOZ) was prepared by the same manner as above. From the elementary analysis and infrared spectrum, the following polyfunctional oxazolinium perchlorates were identified. Perchlorate salt of 2-isopropenyl-2-oxazoline (IPOZ-HC1O 4), mp 98.5-99.0°C.