STUDY OF THE REACTION BETWEEN NITROXIDE-TERMINATED POLYMERS AND THIURAM DISULFIDES - TOWARD A METHOD OF FUNCTIONALIZATION OF POLYMERS PREPARED BY NITROXIDE MEDIATED FREE-LIVING RADICAL POLYMERIZATION

Nitroxide-terminated polystyrenes resulting from ''living'' free radic al polymerization processes have been ''functionalized'' by combinatio n reaction with thiuram disulfide compounds, i.e., tetraethyl thiuram disulfide (3a), and ,N'-diethyl-N,N'-bis{2-((trimethylsilyl)oxy)ethyl} thiuram disulfide (3c). The quantitative substitution of the nitroxid e moiety by the dithiocarbamate group has been characterized by H-1 NM R, C-13 NMR, and IR spectroscopy, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, ESI mas s spectrometry, and LSI mass spectrometry. The reaction has also been studied on a model compound.