Alternating copolymerization of dienes with α‐olefins

Alternating copolymerization of butadiene with several α‐olefins and of isoprene with propylene were investigated by using a mixture of VO(Acac)2, Et3Al, and Et2AlCl as catalyst. The alternating copolymerization ability of the olefins decreases in the order, propylene > 1‐butene > 4‐methyl‐1‐pentene > 3‐methyl‐1‐butene. The study on the sequence of the copolymer of isoprene with propylene by ozonolysis reveals that the polymer chain is reasonably expressed by the sequence \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \rlap{--} [{\rm CH}_{\rm 2} \hbox{--} {\rm CH} \hbox{=\hskip-1pt=} {\rm C(CH}_{\rm 3}) \hbox{--} {\rm CH}_{\rm 2} \hbox{--} {\rm CH(CH}_{\rm 3}) \hbox{--} {\rm CH}_{\rm 2} \rlap{--}]_n $\end{document}. NMR and infrared spectra indicate that the chain is terminated with propylene unit, forming a structure of C(CH3)CH2C(CH3)CH2 involving a vinylene group.