Dienes polymerization in the presence of metal hydrides and triethylaluminum

Amélie Labbé (1) , Stéphane Carlotti (1, 2) , Larisa Shcheglova (1) , Philippe Desbois (3) , Alain Deffieux (1)

1 LCPO - Laboratoire de Chimie des polymères organiques
2 Team 1 LCPO : Polymerization Catalyses & Engineering
3 BASF - Polymer Laboratory

Butadiene and isoprene can be polymerized by potassium hydride in aromatic hydrocarbons at various temperatures and in short times. A first additive, triethylaluminum, is needed to favour the homogeneity of the initiating system in the solvent of reaction. The importance of a second additive, a potassium alkoxide, is discussed in terms of activation of the polymerization. Experimental parameters like temperature, initiator concentration, activator/initiator ratio and monomer concentration are also investigated with the aim to reach a high content of 1,4 units. Transfer reactions occur for isoprene even though a good control of the polymerization is obtained for butadiene.

Mots clés: dienes; alkali metal hydride; trialkylluminum; retarded anionic polymerization

Domaines: Polymères

Amélie Labbé, Stéphane Carlotti, Larisa Shcheglova, Philippe Desbois, Alain Deffieux. Dienes polymerization in the presence of metal hydrides and triethylaluminum. Polymer, 2006, 47 (11), pp.3734-3739. ⟨10.1016/j.polymer.2006.03.078⟩. ⟨hal-00342093⟩