Polyisonitriles. I. Original structure and possible rearrangement of poly(α‐phenylethylisonitrile)

Several possible chemical structures for poly(α‐phenylethylisonitrile) are examined, and the structure is proposed for the polymer as it originally forms. The isolation of acetophenone from hydrolysates of the polymer suggests, although not conclusively, that the polymer may have undergone a tautomeric rearrangement to the structure Ultraviolet and infrared spectral data are cited as partial evidence of either of the proposed structures. The steric implications of the proposed structures are considered, and the probability that the polymerization and the presumed rearrangement are stereoregular chemical reactions is discussed. Debye‐Scherrer x‐ray patterns are presented for poly(α‐phenylethylisonitrile) and for poly(σ‐tolylisonitrile).