Hydrogen-transfer polymerization of vinyl monomers derived from 4-methylbenzoyl isocyanate and acrylamide derivatives

The anionic polymerization of N-acryloyl-N'-(4-methylbenzoyl)urea (1) was c arried out at 80 degrees C for 24 h in DMF, DMSO, acetonitrile, or toluene by t-BuOK or DBU (3 mol %) as an initiator to obtain polymer 3 in a good yi eld. The structure of 3 was dependent upon the initiator used, in which t-B uOK selectively conducted the hydrogen-transfer polymerization, while DBU p artially induced the vinyl polymerization (16-20%). Likewise, N-acryloyl-N- methyl-N'-(4-methylbenzoyl) (2, i.e., an N-methylated derivative of 1) was subjected to the hydrogen-transfer polymerization. Although the yield of th e polymer was lower in comparison with 1, the structure of the obtained pol ymer 4 was similarly governed by the initiator. (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.