Cycloalkane perketal initiators for styrene polymerization. 3. Decomposition chemistry of spiroperketals

Initiators that form diradicals are of interest due to their potential for increasing polymerization rate. Spiroperketals made from 2,5-dihydroperoxy-2,5-dimethylhexane and cyclic ketones theoretically can form two diradical fragments during decomposition. However, thermolyses in ethylbenzene and styrene showed that they mainly undergo in-cage decomposition, resulting in poor performance as both hydrogen atom abstractors and polymerization initiators.