Polymerlzation of N-Octadecylmaleimide was studied using rare earth coordination catalysts in toluene．The dependence of polymerization on molar ratio of catalyst components

different rare earth elements

catalyst coneentration

monomer concentration

polymerization time and polymerization temperature was investigated in detail The resuIts showed that the yale earth catalysts were favorable catalysts for the polymerization of N-Octadecylmaleimide A suilable condition for the polymerization was [La(P507)3]= 1×10-2 mol·L-1； [Al(i-Bu)3]=8.0×10-2 mol·L-1 NODMI]=5.0×10-1 mol·L-1；60℃；6h. Characterization of the polymer obtained showed that polymerization of N-Octadecylmaleimide proceeded via opening the double bond in the monomer molecules．The heat-resistant property of the polymer was investigated primarily．The polymer showed excellent thermal stability The thermal decomposition of the polymer proceeded via a one-step reaction and no substantial weight loss was observed below 350℃．The initial decomposition temporature(Tini)was 360℃

the maximum decomposition emperature(Tmax) was 441℃

and the residual weight at 500％ was about 3.4 wt％．