ASYMMETRIC POLYMERIZATION OF N-TRIPHENYLMETHYLMALEIMIDE WITH CHIRAL ANIONIC INITIATORS

Asymmetric polymerization of N-triphenylmethylmaleimide(TrMI) is perfo rmed with chiral anionic initiators in tetrahydrofuran and toluene at -78 and 0 degrees C to obtain optically active polymer. It is found th at the (S)-(+)-1-(2-pyrrolidinylmethyl) pyrrolidinelithium [Li-(+)-PMP ] and lithium (-)-menthoxide are effective for the asymmetric polymeri zation of N-triphenylmethylmaleimide in THF. The polymers obtained are characterized by circular dichroism(CD). It is inferred that the prop agation reaction of polymerization of TrMI with Li-(+)-PMP is dominate d by ion pair mechanism and meanwhile free ion mechanism cannot be ign ored based on GPC analysis.