M. Bednarek et al., Coexistence of activated monomer and active chain end mechanisms in cationic copolymerization of tetrahydrofuran with ethylene oxide, MACROMOLEC, 32(16), 1999, pp. 5257-5263
Cationic copolymerization of tetrahydrofuran (THF) with ethylene oxide (EO)
in the presence of diols proceeds with simultaneous participation of secon
dary and tertiary oxonium ions. This process comprises therefore some featu
res of the activated monomer (AM) and the active chain end (ACE) mechanisms
. The mechanism of copolymer formation was evaluated, and the kinetics of c
ompeting reactions involving both secondary and tertiary oxonium ions with
nucleophiles present in the system was studied. The apparent rate constants
were derived, allowing the estimation of the influence of copolymerization
conditions on the composition and microstructure of copolymers.