Organoaluminum‐mediated polymerization of diazoketones

Abstract

Abstract Polymerization of diazoketones mediated by organoaluminum compounds was investigated. Trialkylaluminum R 3 Al (R = iBu, Et, Me) and diisobutylaluminum hydride (DIBAL) polymerized ( E )‐1‐diazo‐3‐nonen‐2‐one ( 1 ) to give polymers with M n = 2000–3500, which contained nearly 33 mol % of azo group (NN) along with the dominant acylmethylene unit in the main chain. On the other hand, when ( E )‐1‐diazo‐4‐phenyl‐3‐buten‐2‐one ( 2 ) was used as a monomer for the organoaluminum‐mediated polymerization, the resulting polymers had ethylidene (CH[CH 3 ]) units in the main chain along with acylmethylene and azo group, as a result of reductive cleavage of the acyl group during the polymerization. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 5209–5214, 2007