VERSATILE REACTIONS OF ORGANOBORON POLYMERS PREPARED BY HYDROBORATION POLYMERIZATION

Hydroboration polymerization of dienes and thexylborane produces organoboron polymers, which can be regarded as a polymer homolog of trialkylboranes. In other words, the organoboron polymers obtained can be expected to be a novel type of reactive polymer. The present paper describes versatile reactions of organoboron polymers prepared by hydroboration polymerization. For example, reactions with carbon monoxide or with KCN were followed by oxidative treatment to produce the corresponding poly(alcohol)s or poly(ketone)s, respectively. The organoboron polymers were also reacted with bromopyridyl anion or with furyl anion to form cyano- or hydroxyl-containing polymers via ring-opening of pyridine or furan, respectively. Reductive treatment of the organoboron polymer gave the corresponding polymer after reductive cleavage of carbon-boron bonds.