Patent ID: 7250476

Claim:
A process for preparing a multi-functional polymer comprising the steps of: preparing a multi-functional macroinitiator by reacting short-chain living polymer with a molar deficiency of a macroinitiator linking agent defined by the formula C═C—R 1 —C*—X where X is a leaving group, C* is a carbon atom susceptible to nucleophilic attack, and R 1 is an organic group that will impact the double bond in a manner that will allow the double bond to be anionically polymerized, where the short-chain living polymer is characterized by a length that is longer than 0.05 of the entanglement length and shorter than 1.5 of the entanglement length, where the said short-chain living polymer includes a functional group in addition to a living end, and where the functional group derives from synthesizing the short-chain living polymer with an initiator selected from the group consisting of trialkyltin lithium compounds, cyclic amino lithium compounds, and cyclic amino alkyllithium compounds; and polymerizing monomer with the multi-functional macroinitiator.