Cationic polymerization of vinyl monomers initiated by 10-methylphenothiazine cation radicals

Abstract

A small quantity of 10-methylphenothiazine cation radical (MPT .+ ), electrochemically prepared and stocked in acetonitrile solution, initiated cationic polymerizations of n-butyl, t-butyl, and 2-methoxyethyl vinyl ethers and p-methoxystyrene, while no initiation occurred for phenyl vinyl ether, styrene, methyl methacrylate, and phenyl glycidyl ether. 1 H-NMR studies of oligomers and low molecular weight compounds isolated from the reaction mixture for the polymerization of t-butyl vinyl ether in the presence of a small amount of D 2 O indicated that electron transfer from the monomer to MPT .+ was involved in the initiation step