Hybrid copolymerization of cyclic and vinyl monomers

In this work, we report the hybrid copolymerization of various cyclic monomers and vinyl monomers. Our studies demonstrate that 1-tert-butyl-4,4,4-tris-(dimethylamino)-2,2-bis[tris(dimethylamino) phophoranyliden-amino]-2Λ5,Λ5-catenadi(phosphazene) (t-BuP4) can catalyze the hybrid copolymerization of caprolactone (CL), lactide (LA) or cyclic carbonate ester with acrylate or methyl acrylate. However, the polymerization of cyclosiloxane with vinyl monomers yields two corresponding homopolymers, and the polymerization of lactone with acrylonitrile (AN) produces only polyacrylonitrile. Clearly, the extent of matching of activity between a monomer and an active center determines whether or not there is hybrid copolymerization.