Polymerization of 4-Vinyl-1-Cyclohexene Diepoxide by Rhenium Carbonyls Compounds

Diepoxy resins have found important commercial applications in UV radiation curing of surface coatings; a dhesives and in the plastic industry [1,2]. Photoinitiated cationic ring-opening polymerizations of cyclohexene oxide (CHO)1 (Figure 1) was conducted using dirhenium decacarbonyl [3] and rhenium carbonyl halides [4] without a cocatalyst. 4-vinyl-1-cyclohexene diepoxide 2 is used as a reactive diluent’s for diepoxides and epoxy resins; this monomer is expected to form crosslinked polymers, if both epoxide groups are polymerized. Cationic photoolymerization of 4-VCHD by diphenyliodonium hexafluorophosphate was carried out and a mixture of crosslinked and benzene soluble polymers were obtained [5], cationic thermal polymerization by BF3. O(C2H5)2 [6], and it has been reported that two epoxy rings can be opened for polymerization selectively by radiation, but not by chemical initiators.