ABSTRACT
The formation of bicyclic and tricyclic structures by the polymerization of acyclic, branched trienes, and tetraenes, the bicyclic and tricyclic structures having been formed by a succession of ring closures within a single monomer molecule before propagation to a neighboring molecule occurs was reported as early as 1961. Bicyclic polymers were obtained by polymerization of 4-vinylcyclohexene in a solution containing acetyl chloride and aluminum chloride. The radically-initiated polymerization rates of the diallyl esters of fumaric, maleic, mesaconic and citraconic acids were determined. The rate comparison led to the postulate that the monomers lactonized prior to polymerization. Diallyl fumarate and diallyl maleate were polymerized in presence of free radical initiators in a dilatometer. Kinetic data were obtained to show that the fumarate was more reactive than the maleate. Radiation-induced liquid- and solid-state polymerization of triallyl cyanurate was studied, and the two processes compared.
