POLYMER MODIFICATION AND SYNTHESIS USING SULFENYL DERIVATIVES .4. BLOCK COPOLYMER FROM CIS-1,4-POLYBUTADIENE AND P-TOLUENESULFENYL CHLORIDE

In the reported experiments, cis-1,4-polybutadiene (PBD) was modified by copolymerization with p-toluenesulfenyl chloride (TSC) in solution of dioxane. Polymer obtained was characterized by conventional analytical procedures and electron microscopy. Electron micrograph of modified PBD is presented which show that modified product is a block copolymer. Evidence of block copolymer formation is currently being sought in the reaction products of other polydienes and sulfenyl derivatives. The role of the solvent is included in these studies because the reaction medium affects both the polymer conformation and the reaction rate, and hence may also affect the reaction sequence.