SYNTHESIS OF POLYMERS CONTAINING PSEUDOHALIDE GROUPS BY CATIONIC POLYMERIZATION .6. AZIDOTELECHELIC POLY(2-METHYLPROPENE) BY POLYMERIZATIONINITIATED BY THE SYSTEM LEWIS ACID-2-AZIDO-2,4,4-TRIMETHYLPENTANE

The polymerization of 2-methylpropene initiated by the mixture Lewis a cid-2-azido-2,4,4-trimethylpentane was studied in various conditions. It was shown that BF3 gave an appreciable polymerization yield, while diethylaluminium chloride gave only low yields. The functionalization of poly(2-methylpropene) by an azide group was observed, and a functio nality of 0.6 was obtained. This is the first example of the functiona lization of polyalkene through direct cationic polymerization of the m onomer by coinitiation giving macromolecules terminated by a function containing a carbon-to-nitrogen bond. However, elimination reaction is probably responsible for the partial functionalization of the oligome rs.