---
title: "Anionic living polymerisation Template | MolDraw"
url: https://www.moldraw.com/templates/polymer-anionic-living/
description: "Anionic living polymerisation template: Butyllithium adds to styrene to give a benzylic carbanion that adds monomer after monomer; the chains stay alive…"
lang: en
publisher: Scidart Academy
generated: 2026-10-28
---
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# Anionic living polymerisation template

![Anionic living polymerisation template: Butyllithium adds to styrene to give a benzylic carbanion that adds monomer after monomer; the chains stay alive until a proton source (methanol) is added on purpose.](https://www.moldraw.com/templates/download/polymer-anionic-living.svg)

[Edit in MolDraw](https://www.moldraw.com/)[Download SVG](https://www.moldraw.com/templates/download/polymer-anionic-living.svg)

Free template. Download it, or open it in MolDraw to change it first.

Butyllithium adds to styrene to give a benzylic carbanion that adds monomer after monomer; the chains stay alive until a proton source (methanol) is added on purpose.

## Mechanism step by step

Styrene with n-butyllithium: no termination, so every chain grows until the monomer is gone

1. **Initiation** – The C–Li bond pair forms the new C–C bond: a benzylic carbanion
2. **Propagation** – The carbanion adds the next styrene (Li⁺ stays as counter-ion)
3. **Deliberate end** – Methanol protonates the living chain end

## Key points

- No termination step: a carbanion cannot combine with another or lose H⁻, so chains stay "living".
- Fast initiation and no termination give chains of nearly equal length (Đ = Mw/Mn ≈ 1.05); DP = [monomer]/[initiator].
- Adding a second monomer (butadiene, then styrene) makes block copolymers such as SBS rubber.
- Water, O₂ and CO₂ kill the chain ends, so solvents and monomers must be rigorously dry.

Drawn with 97 atoms, 10 arrows, 11 shapes – every one editable in MolDraw.

## Sources

- [Odian, Principles of Polymerization, 4th ed., Wiley 2004, ch. 5](https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780471274001) Textbook
- [Young & Lovell, Introduction to Polymers, 3rd ed., CRC Press 2011](https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780849339295) Textbook

## How to use this template

1. Press **Edit in MolDraw**. The template opens on the canvas of the free MolDraw editor.
2. Change anything: move structures, edit atoms and labels, recolour highlights or delete what you do not need.
3. Add your own structures, arrows and text next to it, or combine several templates on one page.
4. Export the drawing as PNG, SVG or PDF for slides, worksheets, theses and papers.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is the Anionic living polymerisation template free?

Yes. The Anionic living polymerisation template is one of the free MolDraw templates: open it in the editor or download it from this page as SVG or PNG and use it in your slides, worksheets and notes.

### Can I edit the Anionic living polymerisation template?

Yes. It opens as an ordinary MolDraw drawing, so every structure, arrow, label and colour can be changed, and you can add your own content around it.

### Is the chemistry checked?

Every structure is checked with RDKit and every curly arrow passes MolDraw’s electron-flow audit. The sources used are listed on this page.

### Do the polymer templates show repeat units?

Yes. Each polymer is drawn with its repeat unit in brackets with n, next to the monomers it comes from.

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