Post-polymerization modification of Poly(vinylcyclopropanes): A potential route to periodic copolymers

Abstract

Poly(1,1-disubstituted-2-vinylcyclopropanes) were submitted to various substitution and addition reactions in order to modify the side chain and ethylenic moiety within the polymer backbone. Explicitly, bromination, epoxidation and thiol-ene addition reactions were performed on the ethylenic bond that is present in the main chain of poly(vinycyclopropanes) with varying ester and amide side chains. Bromination and epoxidation reactions proceeded with up to 90% conversion, while thiol-ene additions resulted in substantially lower conversions, i.e. <50%. The scope of this study is to reveal the potential of 1,1-disubstituted-2-vinylcyclopropanes as appealing monomers for the efficient synthesis of periodic copolymers with precise positioning of substituents within the constitutional repeating units.