Jhp. Utley et al., ELECTROCHEMICAL ROUTE TO XYLYLENE POLYMERS AND COPOLYMERS VIA CATHODICALLY GENERATED QUINODIMETHANES - PREPARATIVE AND STRUCTURAL ASPECTS, Journal of materials chemistry, 5(9), 1995, pp. 1297-1308
Electrochemical reductive elimination of bis(alpha-bromoalkyl)arenes g
ives quinodimethane intermediates that polymerize, mostly in high yiel
d, to linear polymers of the poly(p-xylylene) type. At a stirred mercu
ry cathode reaction proceeds to completion and the polymers precipitat
e. A considerable variety of structural variation in the precursors is
tolerated. Go-electrolysis of different precursors gives copolymers.
In some cases organo-solv fractions are formed. Key structural feature
s of the polymers and copolymers are obtained by NMR spectroscopy [H-1
and C-13 (solution and solid-state)] and by direct pyrolysis mass spe
ctrometry. The high reactivity of the p-quinodimethanes is evident fro
m the observed random polymerization and co-polymerization.