Synthesis and characterization of new functional polystyrenes containing tributyltin carboxylate moieties linked to the aromatic ring by a trimethylene spacer

A novel trialkyltin carboxylate monomer, tributyltin 4-(p-styryl)-butanoate, characterized by the presence of a trimethylenic spacer linking the tin carboxylate moiety to the aromatic group, has been prepared and submitted to radical homo- and copolymerization with styrene in order to obtain the corresponding copolymers with variable contents of organometallic moiety. For the sake of comparison, tributyltin 4-(4-isopropylphenyl)-butanoate has also been synthesized as the structural model of the repeating unit of the polymers. All the products prepared have been characterized both in solution and in the solid state by spectroscopic and thermal techniques with the aim to establish the coordination state of the tin atom, a feature which is of importance for future application of these derivatives.