PHOTOLYTIC AND RADIOLYTIC POLYMERIZATION OF N-ETHYLMALEIMIDE IN CYCLOHEXANE.

Results of an experimental study are presented which show that irradiation of N-ethylmaleimide (NEMI) in cyclohexene (CH) with ultraviolet light or gamma rays gives rise to polymer formation. Separation of the components by liquid chromatography and determination of their structure of pyrolysis-gas chromatography (GC)-mass spectrometry (MS) coupling, infrared spectroscopy, and **1**3C- and H-resonance spectroscopy show that the polymer produced in photolysis as well as in radiolysis consists of an almost alternating copolymer of NEMI and CH and small amounts of a NEMI homopolymer. Based on the experimental results, the authors propose a radical mechanism for copolymerization and an anionic mechanism for homopolymerization.