A Mechanistic and Kinetic Study of the Photoinitiated Cationic Double Ring-opening Polymerization of 2-Methylene-7-phenyl-1,4,6,9-tetraoxa-spiro[4.4]nonane.

Efficient photopolymerization of a potentially expandable monomer is of practical importance for a variety of polymeric applications demanding dimensional stability, particularly if the polymerization process is well controlled based on a detailed investigation of the reaction. In the current study, photoinitiated polymerization kinetics of 2-methylene-7-phenyl-1,4,6,9-tetraoxaspiro[4.4]nonane (MPN) either with cationic initiation alone or with combined cationic/free radical initiation was examined using real-time FT-IR. A proposed mechanism based on the simplified propagation steps of the cationic double ring-opening polymerization of MPN was confirmed by both computer modeling and NMR spectroscopic analysis of resulting polymers as well as the experimentally observed apparent activation energy. According to this mechanism, alpha-position attack is the predominant mode for the second ring opening during cationic polymerization of MPN. Further, cationic photopolymerization was performed along with a free radical co-initiator or with exposure to moisture to get an improved understanding of the complex cationic double ring-opening polymerization. As a result, free radical-promoted cationic polymerization helps increase the polymerization rate of MPN while even a trace amount of moisture was found to significantly impact both the reaction kinetics and the polymerization course.