POLYMERIZATION OF 5-PHENYL-2-(2-PROPYNYLAMINO)-2-OXAZOLIN-4-ONE BY TRANSITION-METAL CATALYSTS

Polymerization of 5-phenyl-2-(2-propynylamino)-2-oxazolin-4-one, an ac etylene derivative which can yield a conjugated polymer, was carried o ut with palladium and platinum chlorides. These catalyst systems gave a moderate yield of polymer (maximum polymer yield: 81%). In the polym erization of PdCl2 as the monomer-to-catalyst mole ratio increased, th e polymer yield and molecular weight decreased from 69 to 25% and from 2930 to 2010, respectively. The polymer structure was identified by v arious instrumental analyses (NMR, IR, UV-visible spectroscopies) to h ave a conjugated polymer backbone. The resulting polymers were complet ely soluble in chloroform, formic acid, tetrohydrofuran, DMF, and DMSO , but insoluble in ethyl ether, n-hexane, and CCl4.