Novel fluorinated hybrid polymer by radical polyaddition of bis(α-trifluoromethyl-β, β-difluorovinyl) terephthalate onto dialkoxydialkylsilanes

The synthesis of polymers by radical polyaddition of bis(α- trifluoromethyl-β,β-difluorovinyl)terephthalate (BFP) with dialkoxydialkylsilanes (DEOMS), was studied. Radical polyaddition of BFP withe DEOMS initiated by benzoyl peroxide or di-tert-butyl peroxide yielded polymers of up to molecular weight 1×10⁶ with broad molecular weight distribution. A mechanism for the polyaddition reaction was proposed based on the radical addition reactions. The step growth polymerization was initiated by hydrogen abstraction of DEOMS to add a perfluoroisopropenyl group, followed by a 1,7-shift of the radical in the intermediate. The relationship between addition reaction mechanism and polyaddition mechanism was discussed.