Claims
- 1. In a solution polymerization of at least one conjugated diene monomer said solution comprising a hydrocarbon solvent wherein polymerization of the monomer is initiated in the presence of a multifunctional lithium containing soluble initiator the improvement which comprises employing as initiator a mixture comprising a multifunctional lithium compound corresponding to the formula: ##STR4## wherein R.sub.1 is independently each occurrence hydrogen or an inert radical having from 0 to 16 carbon atoms;
- R.sub.2 is a divalent organic radical having at least 6 carbon atoms, R.sub.2 having at least one aromatic ring and the aromatic ring being directly attached to a carbon which is attached to an aromatic ring of the above formula, with the further limitation R.sub.2 contains carbon and hydrogen, and optionally oxygen; oxygen when present is present only in the configuration of a diphenyl oxide;
- R.sub.3 is selected from the group consisting of alkyl, cycloalkyl, and aromatic radicals containing from 1 to 20 carbon atoms; and
- a lithium alkoxide of the formula LiOR the alkoxide (OR) containing 2-16 carbon atoms and the equivalent ratio of lithium alkoxide to multi-functional lithium compound being about 0.05 to 2.
- 2. The solution polymerization of claim 1 wherein an alkenyl aromatic monomer and a conjugated diene are polymerized.
- 3. The solution polymerization of claim 1 wherein the conjugated diene monomer is butadiene.
- 4. The solution polymerization of claim 1 wherein the conjugated diene monomer is isoprene.
- 5. The solution polymerization of claim 2 wherein the alkenyl aromatic monomer is selected from the group consisting of styrene and .alpha.-methylstyrene.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This is a continuation in part, of application Ser. No. 287,505 filed Dec. 19, 1988, now abandoned which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 913,927 filed Oct. 1, 1986, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 754,329, filed July 12, 1985, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (13)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
1492154 |
Apr 1966 |
FRX |
59-50245 |
Dec 1984 |
JPX |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
913927 |
Oct 1986 |
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Continuation in Parts (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
287505 |
Dec 1988 |
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Parent |
754329 |
Jul 1985 |
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