| Abstract: | The stereochemistry of the copolymerization of optically active phenylepoxyethane ( 5 ) with carbon dioxide using a diethylzinc/water system as catalyst was investigated. The optically active copolymer, poly(oxycarbonyloxy-2-phenylethylene) ( 1 ), was hydrolyzed and the oxy-2-phenylethylene unit was isolated in the form of 1,2-bis(trimethylsilyloxy)-1-phenylethane ( 3 ). The determination of the optical activity of this ether led to the conclusion that the ring opening of 5 takes place predominantly at the methineoxygen linkage accompanying an inversion in the copolymerization. This fact is in sharp contrast with the stereochemistry of the copolymerization of carbon dioxide with 1,2-epoxypropane in which the ring opening takes place at the methylene-oxygen linkage. |
