EXPLORATORY RING-OPENING POLYMERIZATION - RING-OPENING POLYMERIZATION OF VINYLKETENE CYCLIC ACETAL

The authors have previously reported that a certain ketene cyclic acetal such as 2-methylene-4-phenyl-1,3-dioxolane undergoes radical ring-opening polymerization to afford the corresponding polyester. To explore furhter the possibility of ring-opening polymerization of other types of ketene cyclic acetals, the authors were interested in vinylketene cyclic acetal with phenyl substituent as in the case of highly reactive 2-methylene-4-phenyl-1,3-dioxolane. In this article, the synthesis and polymerization of 4-phenyl-2-propenylene-1,3-dioxolane (I) are described.