Study on the mechanism of anionic polymerization with mixed RLi–R′OK initiators, 1. Polymerization of butadiene

Abstract

w /M n F 50, indicating the participation of at least two new types of growing species with a fairly slow exchange between them. The study of several model mixed initiators suggests that these new species are complex aggregates containing simultaneously K, Li, and OR moieties rather than single-metal species. Surprisingly, it was found that neither free RK nor its complexes with excess t-AmOK play any important role in the overstoichiometric region.