Polymerization of olefins with bulky substituents. 1. Homo- and copolymerization of 3-(1-adamantyl)propene

The use of bulky substituents like adamantane has been shown in the past to influence the glass transition temperatures of polymers significantly. In this paper the synthesis and homopolymerization of the monomer 3-(1-adamantyl) propene is described, as well as the copolymerization of this monomer with ethene, propene, 1-pentene, 4-methyl-1-pentene, 1-hexene and 1-octene. The resultant copolymers proved to be largely insoluble in organic solvents. It was also demonstrated that the presence of the bulky methyladamantyl side group influenced the glass transition temperatures of the copolymers in comparison with the corresponding homopolymers. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.