Characteristics and Mechanism of Vinyl Ether Cationic Polymerization in Aqueous Media Initiated by Alcohol/B(C6F5)3/Et2O

Aqueous cationic polymerizations of vinyl ethers (isobutyl vinyl ether (IBVE), 2-chloroethyl vinyl ether (CEVE), and n-butyl vinyl ether (n-BVE)) were performed for the first time by a CumOH/B(C₆F₅)₃/Et₂O initiating system in an air atmosphere. The polymerization proceeded in a reproducible manner through the careful design of experimental conditions (adding initiator, co-solvents, and surfactant or decreasing the reaction temperature), and the...