Influence of the kind of crown ether on the anionic polymerization of (phenoxymethyl)oxirane initiated by potassium tert-butoxide

The propagation rate constant, k_p, was determined for the polymerization of (phenoxymethyl)oxirane (2,3-epoxypropyl phenyl ether) initiated by potassium tert-butoxide in the presence of various crown ethers: 12-crown-4, 15-crown-5, 18-crown-6, dicyclothexano-18-crown-6, dicyclohexano-24-crown-8, dibenzo-18-crown-6 and dibenzo-24-crown-8. The equation correlating k_p with complexation constants, K_c, of the crown ethers was derived.