Sequencing of siloxane units was studied in the copolymer chain formed by anionic
polymerization of 2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-6,6-diphenylcyclotrisiloxane. The study involved three polymerization
systems: lithium silanolate in THF, potassium silanolate complexed with 18-crown-6 in toluene, and
tetramethylammonium silanolate in toluene. The sequencing proved to be a very good diagnostic tool for
the studies of polymerization chemoselectivity. In all the three mentioned systems the chemoselectivity
was high. In particular, processes leading to chain cleavage, such as backbiting and chain fragment
interchange, occurred at a much lower rate than propagation, which allowed for quantitative studies of
regioselectivity in polymerization. The pentad analysis, performed using the first-order Markov statistics,
completed by the determination of the unit sequence at chain extremities, permitted the determination
of the contributions from the monomer ring openings at three nonequivalent sites. The regioselectivity
is poor as the ring is opened in each of these three places with a significant probability. The results
provide important information on the mechanism of the chain propagation. They point to the role of the
counterion assistance to the monomer ring opening. The generation of a more stable silanolate propagation
center may also be important for choosing the site of the ring-opening. Ab initio calculations suggest the
direct interaction of the phenyl group with the metal cation.