Anionic polymerization of acrylic monomers. 15. Living anionic copolymerization of mixtures of methyl metacrylate and tert-butyl acrylate as promoted by dibenzo-18-crown-6

Although mu-coordinating ligands such as LiCl are effective in promoting the well-controlled living anionic block copolymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and tert-butyl acrylate (tBuA), whichever monomer is first polymerized, it has been previously shown that a copolymerization of mixtures of these two monomers does not proceed as expected, giving poor results in terms of both conversion and molecular weight distribution: that was accounted for by the easy back-biting nucleophilic attack of a highly sensitive methyl ester group by a moderately hindered PtBuA anion. It is now reported that such a situation can be completely modified, when a cation-binding sigma-ligand, i.e., dibenzo-18-CE-6, is used in chelating a sodium counterion and surrounding it with a steric barrier, blocking a large enough space area around the ion pair. In fact, a living copolymerization process of mixtures of MMA and tBuA prevails in THF at -78-degrees-C, in the presence of that Na+/DB-18-CE-6 system. The living copolymer is found, although in a relatively small extent, to be of a statistical type rather than a blocky one or a mixture of two corresponding homopolymers. Furthermore, using the extended Kelen-Tudos method, the monomer reactivity ratios are determined to be r(MMA) = 0.02 and r(tBuA) = 8.81.