Studies on cationic copolymerization of α-Methylstyrene and indene

Summary -Methylstyrene (MS) and indene (In) have been copolymerized in methylene chloride diluent using trityl ion salts, boron trifluoride methyl etherate, and trifluoroacetic acid as catalysts. Rate constants of homopolymerization of both monomers, copolymerization parameters (CPP) and individual rate constants (IRC) of binary first order copolymerization have been determined. The rate constants of trityl ion consumption in the presence of the monomers are qualitative measures of initiation rates. An interpretation of the differences of monomer reactivity in homopolymerization and copolymerization selectivity is proposed.