Preparation of optically active N‐bornyl maleimide and poly(N‐bornyl maleimide)

Optically active N‐bornyl maleimide (NBMI) was prepared with maleie anhydride and d‐camphor amine and the polymerizations of N‐bornyl maleimide were carried out with benzoyl peroxide (BPO), α,α′‐azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) and n‐butyllithium. The specific rotations of the polymers obtained by BPO, AIBN, and n‐BuLi were +5.1 to +8.4, +10.0 to +10.1 and −7.0 to −9.0, respectively. The results of the x‐ray analysis for the above polymers showed that these polymers had the same structure. The specific rotation of the polymer initiated by BPO increased with increasing intrinsic viscosity. The effect of the polymer endgroup on the specific rotation was discussed.