Anionic polymerization of oxirane in the presence of the polyiminophosphazene base t‐Bu‐P4

Abstract
The use of the polyiminophosphazene base t‐Bu‐P4 (1) for the anionic polymerization of ethylene oxide is described. Polymerization initiated by a monoalkoxide of the protonated base leads to well‐defined poly(ethylene oxide)s with low polydispersity (Mw/Mn ≈ 1.1). Furthermore, graft copolymers of poly[ethylene‐co‐(vinyl alcohol)] (PEVA) with poly(ethylene oxide) and a star macromolecule were synthesized from multifunctional polyalkoxides in high yields.