The present invention relates to a method of producing a polymer including: polymerizing a compound represented by the following formula (3); or copolymerizing the compound represented by the following formula (3) with a compound (6) having a reactive carbon-carbon double bond and differing from the compound represented by the following formula (3), in a presence of at least one compound selected from the group consisting of compounds represented by the following formula (1) and compounds represented by the following formula (2).

The invention pertains to a method for manufacturing three-dimensional objects via an additive manufacturing system, using a fluorinated thermoplastic elastomer, delivering hence advantages over corresponding thermoplasts in throughput and part design accurate control, containment of degradation, reduction of fumes, and yet delivering parts with outstanding chemical and thermal resistance.

A living radical polymer that has a low molecular weight distribution and has a specific functional group at least at one end, and a resin-coated pigment has high dispersibility of a resin composition including the living radical polymer, is excellent in properties such as preservation stability, discharge stability, and color developability in a dispersed state, and is suitably used in a pigment dispersion. A living radical polymer has a specific functional group structure, the living radical polymer includes a polymerization initiator-derived specific organic compound moiety at one end or in a backbone of the living radical polymer and is obtained by reacting a radical generator having a specific functional group with at least any end, for example, an iodine end ascribable to a precursor. A living radical polymer composition includes the same; a resin-coated pigment is obtained by coating with the living radical polymer composition; and a method produces the living radical polymer.

The present application relates to a method of performing living cationic polymerization of monomers by supermolecular anion-binding catalysis. It uses various simple Bronsted acids or adducts thereof with a monomer as the cationic initiator, and various hydrogen bond donors as the catalyst for binding and dissociating counter anions dynamically, to living and controlled polymerize one or more cationically polymerizable monomers to form a homopolymer or a copolymer. In the present application, the hydrogen-bond donor can exert non-covalent anion-binding interactions to dynamically and reversibly activate dormant covalent bond under mild conditions, in turn to precisely control the equilibrium between dormant covalent precursors and active cationic species, thereby achieving the precise control of the polymer's molecular weight, distribution and end group structure, and solving the environment-unfriendly relevant problems in traditional metal-based Lewis acid catalysis, which include extreme low polymerization temperature, restrict anhydrous requirement of the reaction, strict purification requirement of the monomer and catalysis-initiating system, metal residue in polymer or the like.

The present invention provides a stereocontrol catalyst for use in radical polymerization that is applicable to polymerization of a broad range of monomers and that enables polymerization with control of both molecular weight (molecular weight distribution) and stereoselectivity, a method for producing a polymer using the stereocontrol catalyst for use in radical polymerization, and an acrylic polymer. Provided is a stereocontrol catalyst for use in radical polymerization, containing: a rare-earth metal salt compound; and a hydroxy group-containing compound.

Novel functionalized rubbers having low hysteresis and good compatibility with fillers, such as carbon black and silica, have been synthesized. These functionalized rubbers, including functionalized polybutadiene rubber and functionalized styrene-butadiene rubber, can be beneficially used in making a wide variety of rubber products that have enhanced physical properties. These improved properties are realized because the functional groups therein improve compatibility with reinforcing fillers that are typically included in such rubber compounds. These functionalized rubbers are comprised of polymer chains of the structural formula: ##STR00001##
wherein Polydiene represents a polymer chain which is comprised of at least one diene monomer and wherein R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 can be the same or different and represent alkyl groups containing form 1 to 8 carbon atoms. These rubbers can also be functionally terminated with a silicon containing terminator.

Crosslink-forming monomers, comprising reverse-acrylate groups, and crosslinked polymer networks formed by the polymerization of monomers that comprise said reverse-acrylate crosslink-forming monomers. Crosslink-forming monomers, comprising reverse-acrylate groups, comprising an alkyl, an aryl, an alkoxyl, and an alkylamino group bridging one or more reverse-acrylate groups. Crosslink-forming monomers, comprising reverse-acrylate groups, comprising an alkyl, an aryl, an alkoxyl, and an alkylamino ester groups. Crosslink-forming monomers, comprising reverse-acrylate groups, comprising alkyl groups where the group is selected from the group consisting of a methyl, an ethyl, a propyl, an n-butyl and a t-butyl. Reverse-acrylate crosslink-forming monomers comprise a chemical structure where the two or more polymerizable carbon-carbon double bonds are connected by a crosslinking group on the opposite side of the hydrolysable ester groups relative to normal crosslinking acrylate monomers. The crosslink-forming monomers herein form crosslinked polymer networks that do not lose their crosslinking upon hydrolysis of the ester linkages.

Disclosed is an article comprising polymers and copolymers selected from the group consisting of poly(vinylbiphenyl), poly(vinylcyclohexylstyrene), substituted versions thereof, and blends thereof, the polymer or copolymer having a weight average molecular weight (Mw) of at least 100 kg/mole and a glass transition temperature (Tg) of at least 100 C. The polymers are desirably processed in the melted state at a temperature of at least 150 C. to impart orientation and extensional strain hardening.

The present invention relates to a polymer latex for dip-molding applications obtainable by free-radical emulsion polymerization of a mixture of ethylenically unsaturated monomers comprising at least one conjugated diene and at least one ethylenically unsaturated nitrile compound in an aqueous medium in presence of seed latex particles having a glass transition temperature (mid point temperature Tmg) measured by DSC according to ASTM D3418-03 of ?50? C. to 50? C. wherein the seed latex particles do not contain structural units derived from ethylenically unsaturated nitrile compounds, to a method of preparing said polymer latex, to articles made by using said polymer latex and to a method for preparing dip-molded articles from said polymer latex.

In one embodiment the invention relates to a method of preparing a polyrotaxane, said method comprising: performing a radical copolymerization of at least (a) a first polymerizable monomer having a stopper group, and of at least (b) a second polymerizable hydrophobic monomer, wherein said second monomer is complexed by a ring-shaped molecule, and of at least (c) a third polymerizable hydrophilic monomer; wherein during said copolymerization a copolymer threading said ring-shaped molecule is formed, wherein during said copolymerization said first monomer having a stopper group is incorporated into the chain of said copolymer at least partially between the ends thereof, and wherein said stopper groups prevent said ring-shaped molecule from disassembling from the copolymer; and wherein the amount of said first monomer having a stopper group is of from 0.1 mol % to 20 mol % based on 100 mol % of the total amount of polymerizable monomers. In another embodiment the invention relates to a method of preparing a polyrotaxane, said method comprising: performing a radical copolymerization of at least (a) a first polymerizable monomer having a stopper group, and of at least (b) a second polymerizable partially hydrophilic monomer, wherein said second monomer is complexed by a ring-shaped molecule, and wherein said second monomer has a solubility in water at 20 C. of from 5 g/L to 40 g/L; wherein during said copolymerization a copolymer threading said ring-shaped molecule is formed, wherein during said copolymerization said first monomer having a stopper group is incorporated into the chain of said copolymer at least partially between the ends thereof, and wherein said stopper groups prevent said ring-shaped molecule from disassembling from the copolymer; and wherein the amount of said first monomer having a stopper group is of from 0.1 mol % to 20 mol % based on 100 mol % of the total amount of polymerizable monomers. Furthermore, the present invention relates to methods of preparing cross-linked polyrotaxanes and cross-linked polyrotaxanes which can be prepared using such methods. Thus, the present invention also relates to polyrotaxane and crosslinked polyrotaxanes. The invention also relates to products which contain the polyrotaxanes or cross-linked polyrotaxanes or which can be prepared from the polyrotaxanes or the cross-linked polyrotaxanes. The present invention further relates to the use of polyrotaxanes or cross-linked polyrotaxanes in various applications, such as the use as a self-healing material.