Two‐Phase(water/organic) free radical polymerization of water‐soluble vinyl monomers using lipophilic acylated β‐cyclodextrins as initiator carrier

The acylated β-cyclodextrins, heptakis(2,3,6-tri-O-acetyl)-β-cyclodextrin, heptakis(2,3,6-tri-O-obutyryl)-β-cyclodextrin, heptakis(2,3,6-tri-O-butyryl)-β-cyclodextrin, and heptakis(2,3,6-tri-O-pivaloyl)-β-cyclodextrin, cause a marked increase in the rate of polymerization of water- soluble vinyl monomers using water insoluble initiators in the two-phase system consisting of water and an organic solvent (chloroform/ligroin, volume ratio 1 : 4). A plausible mechanism for this polymerization is proposed: The lipophilic acylated cyclodextrin acts as an initiator carrrier from the organic to the aqueous phase where polymerization takes place.