U.S.-Japan Cooperative Research: Extension of the Bond-Forming Initiation Theory to Electrophilic p-Quinodimethane Polymerization

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This award will support a cooperative research project in polymer chemistry between Professor Henry K. Hall, Jr., Department of Chemistry, University of Arizona, and Professors Shouji Iwatsuki and Takahito Itoh, Faculty of Engineering, Mie University, Nagoya, Japan. The scientists will study reactions of electron-rich, donor olefins with electrophilic quinodimethanes. Previous studies by Professor Hall on reactions of electron-rich olefins with electron-poor, acceptor olefins led to development of his Bond-Forming Initiation Theory, which proposes that tetramethylene intermediates, either ionic or free-radical, are the initiators of the spontaneous polymerizations that frequently occur in these systems. This theory has been successful in explaining results obtained in the olefin-olefin systems, and the investigators in this project wish to examine its extension to reactions of olefins with quinodimethanes Dr. Hall, an organic polymer chemist, has considerable experience in synthesizing new monomers and polymers and in investigating the basic mechanisms of polymerization. Dr. Itoh has synthesized a variety of novel quinodimethanes and has studied their polymerization reactions. He recently spent a year in Dr. Hall's laboratory in Arizona pursuing this research. The U.S. and Japanese scientists will cooperate in synthesizing monomers especially suited for these studies, in attempting to trap reaction intermediates, and in carrying out detailed kinetic studies of the reactions. Some of the polymers to be investigated here have potential applications in such high-technology areas as non-linear optical materials and piezoelectric materials.