Controlled ring‐expansion polymerization of thiiranes based on cyclic aromatic thiourethane initiator

Ring‐expansion polymerization (REP) of thiiranes was investigated using 3H‐benzothiazol‐2‐one (BT) as the cyclic aromatic thiourethane initiator in the presence of tetrabutylammonium chloride (TBAC) catalyst. The polymerization proceeded in a well‐controlled manner to afford cyclic polysulfides with one BT moiety per macrocycle, as confirmed by MALDI‐TOF MS spectroscopy. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurement of the obtained cyclic polysulfides revealed slight decrease in the glass‐transition temperature as the increase in the molecular weight, supporting the cyclic topology of the products. Postpolymerization of thiiranes using the BT‐initiated cyclic polysulfide as the macroinitiator afforded the ring‐expanded product while maintaining the narrow polydispersity and well‐defined cyclic structure, which enabled precise synthesis of cyclic block copolymer with different thiirane combination. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019, 57, 2442–2449