Radical Polymerization of a Novel Methacrylamide Derivative

The radical polymerization of a novel methacrylamide derivative, N-[o-(4-ethyl-4, 5-dihydro-1, 3-oxazol-2-yl) phenyl] methacrylamide ((S)-EtOPMAM), was carried out to obtained optically active polymers. The polymer yield and the chiroptical behavior of the resultant polymers have been examined in detail by using IR and 1H NMR spectroscopies in comparison with our previous observation. The polymers showed relatively high molecular weights (Mn=8000-16000) and largest specific rotations ([α]25D =+120.6o). Particularly, the largest specific optical rotation of the polymer is almost the six times of the monomer.