Blocked Amine Functional Initiator for Anionic Polymerization

Preparation and utilization of a new blocked amine functional initiator for anionic polymerization is reported. This initiator is prepared from the quantitative reaction of sec-butyllithium with p-(N,N-bis-(trimethylsilyl)amino)styrene under very specific, controlled conditions. The carbanion initiator formed, unlike most blocked functional anionic initiators, is soluble in nonpolar solvents. This nonpolar solubility opens up the possibility of preparing new well-defined, end-reactive polymers, such as polysiloxanes and high cis- 1,4-polydienes. This new initiator was used to prepare novel semitelechelic and telechelic linear poly-(dimethylsiloxane)s of controlled molecular weights, narrow molecular weight distributions, and theoretical functionalities. The end-functional polymers were characterized by gel permeation chromatography, infrared spectroscopy, vapor-phase osmometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. © 1989, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.