Polymerization ofN-phenylmaleimide with a rare-earth coordination catalyst

The polymerization of N-phenylmaleimide was carried out with the binary rare-earth coordination catalyst lanthanum phosphonate [La(P507)]–trisobutyl aluminum [Al(i-Bu)3] in toluene at 60°C. The dependence of the polymerization on the polymerization time, the molar ratio of Al(i-Bu)3 to La(P507), and the concentration of the catalyst were studied. The structures of the resultant polymer were characterized with 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, and Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry, and the thermal properties of the polymer were measured with thermogravimetric analysis. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 96: 979–982, 2005