Terpolymerization of polar vinyl monomers with butadiene and styrene in the presence of Lewis acids

Terpolymerizations of polar vinyl monomers, acrylonitrile, methyl acrylate, or methyl methacrylate with butadiene and styrene in the presence of ethylaluminium dichloride, zinc chloride, or other Lewis acids were carried out. The yield and the contents in monomer units of the terpolymer and the yields of the polar vinyl monomer/butadiene 1,4-cycloaddition byproduct formed in these systems were determined. Butadiene conversions in the above terpolymerizations and 1,4-cycloaddition side reactions were related to those in the copolymerization and 1,4-cycloaddition proceeding in corresponding binary systems without styrene. The results are discussed in terms of a radical polymerization and a polar 1,4-cycloaddition mechanisms.