Polymerization of N-vinylcarbazole by rhenium carbonyl compounds

Abstract

The polymerization of N-vinylcarbazole by rhenium carbonyl compounds such as Re2(CO)10 and Re(CO)5X (X = Br, Cl, I) has been carried out photochemically at 355 nm (bulk) and thermally at 25 and 70°C in dichloromethane. The effects of the catalyst structure, the concentrations, the solvent's polarity, and the ligand's structure were examined. Polymerization proceeds very rapidly at low monomer and catalyst concentrations. The molecular weight of the resulting polymer was determined by viscosity.