Anionic polymerizations of 2-(4-vinylphenyl)ethoxy(trialkyl)silanes and 2-(4-vinylphenyl)ethoxy(t-butoxydimethyl)silane were investigated with oligo(α-methylstyryl)dilithium or -dipotassium as initiator in tetrahydrofuran at −78°C. These monomers readily polymerized to form ‘living polymers’. Subsequent deprotection of the silyl groups from the resulting polymers gave poly[2-(4-vinylphenyl)ethanol]s of the desired molecular weights with narrow molecular weight distributions ().
