Radical and cationic polymerizations of 2-(N,N-dimethyldithiocarbamoyl) ethyl vinyl ether and use of the resulting polymers as photoinitiator

2-(N,N-Dimethyldithiocarbamoyl) ethyl vinyl ether (MTCEVE) was prepared and polymerized using radical and cationic initiators. The radical polymerization of MTCEVE gave low molecular weight polymers (Mn=1200–1900) in low yields, while the cationic one of MTCEVE smoothly proceeded to give polymers of Mn=2800–6400 in good yields. NMR analysis and thermal behaviour analysis of the radically and cationically formed poly(MTCEVE)s suggested that they have fairly different structures. The resulting radical and cationic polymers served as an effective photoinitiator for methyl methacrylate and styrene.