Patent ID: 8063153

Claim:
A method of providing an amine-functionalized polymer, comprising: a) in a reaction medium comprising at least one of a C 5 -C 12 cyclic alkane, a C 5 -C 12 acyclic alkane, an alkylated C 5 -C 12 cyclic alkane, an alkylated C 5 -C 12 acyclic alkane, or a liquid aromatic solvent, reacting a polymer that consists essentially of polyene mer and, optionally, vinyl aromatic mer, said polymer having a living terminus, with a cyclic compound comprising three or four siloxane units in its ring structure so as to provide an intermediate functionalized living polymer having at its terminus a radical of said cyclic compound, said radical constituting no more than about 400 g/mol of said intermediate functionalized living polymer; and b) introducing into said reaction medium an amine comprising an active hydrogen atom attached to the amino nitrogen atom of said amine and allowing said amine to chemically bond to said intermediate functionalized living polymer, thereby providing said amine-functionalized polymer.