Patent ID: 8710164

Claim:
A process for the preparation of diene polymers or vinylarene-diene statistical copolymers comprising: anionic (co)polymerization, in hydrocarbon solvents, of at least one monomer of a conjugated diene, optionally in the presence of a vinyl aryl monomer, and using a compound belonging to the group of lithium alkyls as initiator, characterized in that the total lithium alkyl initiator is modified in situ by means of a reaction with a compound having general formula (I): R m —(X—H) n (I) wherein R is a C 2 -C 20 (cyclo)alkyl or C 6 -C 20 aromatic radical, X is a heteroatom belonging to group VIA of the periodic system, n is an integer higher than or equal to 1, m is an integer≧1 which depends on the valence of the heteroatom X.