Functional Polymers. XVII. Radical Grafting of Methyl 5-Vinylsalicylate onto Polybutadienes

Abstract
Methyl 5-vinylsalicylate was successfully grafted onto 1, 2-and cis-1,4-polybutadiene. When the grafting reaction was carried out in benzene at 60°C with azobisisobutyronitrile or benzoyl peroxide as the initiator, methyl 5-vinylsalicylate was transformed into grafted poly(methyl 5-vinylsalicylate) with a grafting efficiency of 5–22%. It was very important to carry out the grafting reaction under carefully controlled conditions and at relatively low concentration of polybutadienes, otherwise utilization of methyl 5-vinylsalicylate was low and cross-linking of polybutadiene occurred.