ON THE CHIRALITY OF POLYVINYL COMPOUNDS .16. OPTICAL-ACTIVITY OF COPOLYMERS CONSISTING OF DISTYRYL DIADS ALTERNATING WITH SUBSTITUTED MALEIMIDE OF MALEIC-ANHYDRIDE UNITS

The copolymerization of 3,4-O-cyclohexylidene-D-mannitol 1,2:5,6-bis-O -[(4-vinylphenyl)-boronate] (M1) with different N-substituted maleimid es and with maleic anhydride has been studied. These monomers copolyme rize in 1:1 proportion, yielding after removal of the temple (3,4-O-cy clohexylidene-D-mannitol) copolymers with bis(4-vinylphenylboronic aci d) diads alternating with the other comonomeric unit. By deboronation these diads can be transformed to distryl diads. These diads possess p redominantly (S,S)-configuration; thus optically active copolymers wit h main-chain chirality were produced. The chiroptical properties (opti cal rotation and circular dichroism) of the copolymers were studied. C orresponding copolymers with maleic anhydride units can easily be tran sformed by polymer analogous reaction with nucleophiles, as was exempl ified by alcoholysis with fatty alcohols.