Anionic Ring-Opening Polymerization of N-(tolylsulfonyl)azetidines To Produce Linear Poly(trimethylenimine) and Closed-System Block Copolymers.

The anionic ring-opening copolymerization of N-( p-tolylsulfonyl)azetidine ( pTsAzet) and N-( o-tolylsulfonyl)azetidine ( oTsAzet) produces poly( pTsAzet- co- oTsAzet) as a statistical copolymer. The pTsAzet/ oTsAzet copolymerization is living and allows for the synthesis of poly(sulfonylazetidine) of target molecular weights with narrow dispersities. H NMR spectroscopy was used to monitor the kinetics of the polymerization and estimate the monomer reactivity ratios. It was found that the reactivity ratios for oTsAzet and pTsAzet at 180 °C are 1.66 and 0.60, respectively. The tosyl groups of p( pTsAzet- co- oTsAzet) were reductively removed to produce linear poly(trimethylenimine) (LPTMI). This represents the first route to LPTMI of controlled molecular weight and low dispersity. Finally, the slow kinetics of the sulfonylazetidine polymerization facilitated the synthesis of a block copolymer without requiring the sequential addition of monomer. Specifically, pTsAzet, oTsAzet, and ( N- p-toluenesulfonyl-2-methylaziridine) ( pTsMAz) were combined in solution. pTsMAz selectively polymerizes to form the first block at moderate temperature. After consumption of pTsMAz, the temperature was increased to copolymerize pTsAzet and oTsAzet and produce the block copolymer p( pTsMAz)- b-p( pTsAzet- co- oTsAzet).