Synthesis and photoinitiated cationic polymerization of 1,2,3-tris(1-propenoxy) propane

The synthesis of 1,2,3‐tris (1‐propenoxy) propane (GTPE) was carried out by the rearrangement of 1,2,3‐tris(2‐propenoxy) propane (glycerol triallyl ether, GTAE) and the Z: E isomer composition of the GTPE was determined using gas chromatography and 1HNMR. The photoinitiated cationic polymerization of the GTPE was studied using realtime infrared spectroscopy (RTIR). Employing the data from these studies, rates of polymerization for the respective E and Z propenyl ether double bonds were calculated. The rate of incorporation of Z‐double bonds of GTPE into the crosslinked polymer matrix is 1.6 times that of E‐double bonds. The effects of oxygen and several other free radical polymerization inhibitors were investigated. An increase in the photogel time and decrease of the gel‐content in the presence of these inhibitors implicates the involvement of free radicals in the process of the generation of propagating cationic centers when diaryliodonium salt cationic photoinitiators are used. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.