Vicinal alkylene oxide polymerization

Claim 1

A process for the polymerization of a vicinal alkylene oxide represented by the formula ##STR3## where Y represents R 1 or CH 2 OR 2 ; R 1 represents H, an aliphatic hydrocarbyl group of about 1 to 20 carbon atoms, a chloromethyl or a bromomethyl group; and R 2 represents the acyl residue of a carboxylic or fatty acid of about 1 to 30 carbon atoms or a hydrocarbyl group of about 1 to 20 carbon atoms which may bear other vicinal alkylene oxide groups or inert substituents; said process comprising contacting said vicinal alkylene oxide with a catalytically effective amount of a catalyst comprising a composition prepared by contacting: Component A, a compound represented by the formula RR'AlX wherein R and R' each independently represent an alkyl group of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and X represents hydrogen or an alkyl or alkoxy group of 1 to 4 carbon atoms; Component B, an organic nitrogen base compound selected from secondary nitrogen-containing compounds having basicity about equal to or less than the basicity of dimethylamine and having no active hydrogen atoms other than those of the secondary nitrogen; Component C, a beta-diketone; and Component D, water; in the molar ratios of B:A--about 0.01 to 2.5:1 C:A--about 0.1 to 1.5:1 D:A--about 0.1 to 1.5:1 provided that when the molar ratio of (C+2D):A is greater than about 3:1 then the B:A molar ratio is at least about 1:1.