Selective radical cyclopolymerization of a bifunctional vinyl monomer derived from N-vinylacetamide

N,N'-Diacetyl-N,N'-divinylmethylenediamine (1) was prepared by the reaction of N-vinylacetamide with dibromomethane, and the radical polymerization of 1 was carried out in dimethyl sulfoxide, dim-ethylformamide, or N-methylpyrrolidone at 60 degreesC for 36 h in the presence of azobisisobutyronitrile (1 mol %) as an initiator to obtain the corresponding polymer (2) in good yields. 2 was composed of the cyclostructure unit selectively. The radical copolymerization of I with N-vinyl pyrrolidone was also carried out in dimethylformamide at 60 degreesC for 36 h to obtain the corresponding copolymer accompanying the cyclopolymerization.