Ring-opening polymerization of six- and seven-membered cyclic pseudoureas

The cationic ring-opening polymerization of six-membered cyclic pseudoureas, 2-(1-pyrrolidinyl)- (2a) and 2-morpholino-5,6-dihydro-4H-1,3-oxazine (2b), was examined, which proceeded in two different ways, depending on the nature of initiator. The polymerization of 2 with methyl p-toluenesulfonate or trifluoromethanesulfonate (MeOTf) produced poly[ (N-carbamoylimino) trimethylene], while that with benzyl chloride or bromide or methyl iodide gave a polymer consisting of 1,3-diazin-2-one-1,3-diylalkylene unit (the main component) and (N-carbamoylimino)trimethylene unit. The cationic ring-opening polymerization of seven-membered cyclic pseudourea, 2-(1-pyrrolidinyl)-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-4H-1,3-oxazepine (3) was also examined. The polymerization of 3 with MeOTf as initiator gave poly{[N-(1-pyrrolidinycarbonyl)imino]tetramethylene}. With benzyl chloride, on the other hand, no polymerization of 3 proceeded but, instead, the quantitative isomerization of 3 to 1,1'-carbonyldipyrrolidine took place. The polymerization mechanism of 2 and 3 as well as the isomerization mechanism of 3 were discussed with comparing them to the polymerization mechanism of five-membered pseudoureas. (C) 1977 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.