MECHANISM OF CHARGE-TRANSFER POLYMERIZATION: PHOTOSENSITIZED CHARGE-TRANSFER COPOLYMERIZATIONS OF N-VINYLINDOLE WITH ELECTRON-ACCEPTING MONOMERS

It was found for the first time that N-vinylindole was copolymerized with such electron-accepting monomers as fumaronitrile or diethyl fumarate to yield 1:1 alternating copolymers by photopoirradiation. The initiation process of the photolymerization was suggested to involve the charge-transfer or probably electron transfer from N-vinylindole to the electron-accepting monomer in the electronically excited state.