Anionic polymerization of vinylsilanes VII

Summary. The anionic polymerization of tetravinylsilane (TeVS) was carried out in the presence and absence of N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine (TMEDA). Without TMEDA, the polymerization proceeded extremely slowly and the polymer yield was still low even after an extended polymerization time. When TMEDA was added to the system, the polymerization was remarkably accelerated and gelation was suppressed. Such polymerization behavior of TeVS is closely similar to that of methyltrivinylsilane under similar conditions. The effects of TMEDA are explained by its coordination to the propagating end that increases the selectivity in the reaction of the propagating end with vinyl groups. Received: 29 March 1997/Revised: 14 July 1997/Accepted: 18 July 1997