Controlled Synthesis of Homo and Block Copolymers by Using Lithium Naphthalenide as Initiator

VERÓNICA GONZALEZ; MARIO NINAGO; ANGEL SATTI; CLAUDIA SARMORIA; ANDRÉS CIOLINO; ENRIQUE VALLÉS

Encuentro; BPG Annual Meeting 2011.; 2011

In this work, we report the synthesis of isoprene and butadiene homo and block copolymers by anionic polymerization using lithium naphthalenide as initiator. This compound was obtained by the reaction between lithium metal (Li) and naphthalene under mild reaction conditions. Its solubility depends strongly on the relative concentrations of Li and tetrahydrofuran (THF) in the reaction media. The efficiency of this initiator in producing macromolecules with well-defined structures was demonstrated. Model linear homo and tri-block copolymers were synthesized by anionic polymerization (high-vacuum techniques). The model homopolymers and block copolymers obtained showed a narrow molar mass distribution, polydispersity indexes (PD) near 1.1, and practically 100% monomer conversion. These results demonstrate that the lithium naphthalenide initiator is a true alternative for synthesizing complex macromolecular structures in an easy and simple way.