- Email: [email protected]
Ionic polymerisation and living polymers
93
Reactive Polymers, 22 (1994) 93 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam
Book Review Ionic Polymerisation and Living Polymers, by Michael Szwarc and Marcel Van Beylen, Chap-
man & Hall, London, 1993, X + 380 pp., price £35, ISBN 0-412-03661-4. Advances in ionic polymerisation and living polymers have been few over the past fifteen years, particularly when the developments associated with "group transfer polymerisation" and "metathesis polymerisation" are excluded, as they essentially are from this text. One might anticipate therefore that a book with this coverage, and of ca. 400 pages, would have to go back over much earlier work to produce the necessary volume of information, and even a quick scan of the text and references confirms this view. Indeed, this reviewer felt a considerable feeling of nostalgia on turning the pages, and yet overall was left with the feeling that the book is a most useful contribution to the review literature, and certainly makes a positive impact beyond the earlier review texts written by one of the authors (M.S.). Somewhat off-putting, however, is the subdivision of chapters, with Chapter 3, "Initiation and Propagation of Ionic Polymerisation", accounting for ca. 210 of the total of ca. 400 pages. With a little imagination it is difficult to believe that this could not have been subdivided in a constructive fashion. Chapter 1 is an introduction, covers the historical background and sets out the "living polymer" model in general terms, with some kinetic and thermodynamic theory. Chapter 2 deals with "ionic species" and essentially describes the organic chemistry of ionic species in organic solvents. This area has been well reviewed before and it is noticeable that of the 65 references quoted only a handful are post 1980, and indeed ca. 45 are pre-1970. Chapter 3 is the guts of the
SSDI 0923-1137(93)E0052-R
book and contains many classic references, e.g. the k p / 1 / [ L E ] 1/2 plot on p. 97. How-
ever, the topic is brought very much up to date with coverage, e.g. of the newer living cationic polymerisation systems and the metalloporphyrin catalysts. The 382 references in this chapter will be particularly valuable to the specialists in the field, who undoubtedly need this level of detail. Chapter 4 deals with the elementary reactions, other than initiation and propagation and, of course, in "an ideal living system" there should be no "Chapter 4". This chapter therefore deals with the complexities of real systems, termination, isomerisation, chain transfer, branch and ring formation, etc. The final chapter, Chapter 5, describes ionic copolymerisations. Differences in reactivity tend to make efficient copolymerisation difficult, and in some ways this is, therefore, a narrow topic. Nev-ertheless, the important aspects are covered and the point is well made that cationic polymerisation of isobutene to form butyl rubber is generally carried out with some diene comonomer to facilitate vulcanisation or cross-linking of the elastomer. Overall, therefore, this is a textbook for the specialists who will no doubt appreciate the fine detail. Those wishing to get a quick appreciation of ionic polymerisation and what "living polymers" have to offer in terms of the construction of tailored macromolecules would be better served by earlier books. D.C. Sherrington
(Glasgow, UK)
Reactive Polymers, 22 (1994) 93 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam
Book Review Ionic Polymerisation and Living Polymers, by Michael Szwarc and Marcel Van Beylen, Chap-
man & Hall, London, 1993, X + 380 pp., price £35, ISBN 0-412-03661-4. Advances in ionic polymerisation and living polymers have been few over the past fifteen years, particularly when the developments associated with "group transfer polymerisation" and "metathesis polymerisation" are excluded, as they essentially are from this text. One might anticipate therefore that a book with this coverage, and of ca. 400 pages, would have to go back over much earlier work to produce the necessary volume of information, and even a quick scan of the text and references confirms this view. Indeed, this reviewer felt a considerable feeling of nostalgia on turning the pages, and yet overall was left with the feeling that the book is a most useful contribution to the review literature, and certainly makes a positive impact beyond the earlier review texts written by one of the authors (M.S.). Somewhat off-putting, however, is the subdivision of chapters, with Chapter 3, "Initiation and Propagation of Ionic Polymerisation", accounting for ca. 210 of the total of ca. 400 pages. With a little imagination it is difficult to believe that this could not have been subdivided in a constructive fashion. Chapter 1 is an introduction, covers the historical background and sets out the "living polymer" model in general terms, with some kinetic and thermodynamic theory. Chapter 2 deals with "ionic species" and essentially describes the organic chemistry of ionic species in organic solvents. This area has been well reviewed before and it is noticeable that of the 65 references quoted only a handful are post 1980, and indeed ca. 45 are pre-1970. Chapter 3 is the guts of the
SSDI 0923-1137(93)E0052-R
book and contains many classic references, e.g. the k p / 1 / [ L E ] 1/2 plot on p. 97. How-
ever, the topic is brought very much up to date with coverage, e.g. of the newer living cationic polymerisation systems and the metalloporphyrin catalysts. The 382 references in this chapter will be particularly valuable to the specialists in the field, who undoubtedly need this level of detail. Chapter 4 deals with the elementary reactions, other than initiation and propagation and, of course, in "an ideal living system" there should be no "Chapter 4". This chapter therefore deals with the complexities of real systems, termination, isomerisation, chain transfer, branch and ring formation, etc. The final chapter, Chapter 5, describes ionic copolymerisations. Differences in reactivity tend to make efficient copolymerisation difficult, and in some ways this is, therefore, a narrow topic. Nev-ertheless, the important aspects are covered and the point is well made that cationic polymerisation of isobutene to form butyl rubber is generally carried out with some diene comonomer to facilitate vulcanisation or cross-linking of the elastomer. Overall, therefore, this is a textbook for the specialists who will no doubt appreciate the fine detail. Those wishing to get a quick appreciation of ionic polymerisation and what "living polymers" have to offer in terms of the construction of tailored macromolecules would be better served by earlier books. D.C. Sherrington
(Glasgow, UK)