Compositions containing 1,1-di-carbonyl-substituted alkene compounds for preparing polymers having enhanced glass transition temperatures

A composition comprising one or more 1,1-dicarbonyl-substituted alkene compounds wherein each carbonyl group independently has a hydrocarbyl group bonded to the carbonyl groups by a direct bond, a heteroatom, and the hydrocarbyl groups are selected such that homopolymers prepared from the 1,1-di-carbonyl-substituted alkenes exhibit glass transition temperatures of less than 60° C., and

• one or more multifunctional 1,1-dicarbonyl-substituted alkene compounds which comprise a core unit of two or more 1,1-dicarbonyl-substituted alkenes which correspond to the formula:
• wherein:
• R1 is separately in each occurrence a hydrocarbyl group comprising an aryl group, aralkyl group, alkaryl group with the aryl group bonded to the 1 or 2 carbon atom, a cycloalkyl group, an alkyl group with a cycloalkyl group on the 1 or 2 carbon atom, or a branched alkyl group wherein the 1 carbon atom is a tertiary or the 1 and 2 carbon atoms are secondary;
• R2 is, separately in each occurrence, alkyl with a primary 1 carbon atom or a secondary 1 carbon atom and a primary second carbon atom, alkenyl with a primary 1 carbon atom or a secondary 1 carbon atom and a primary second carbon atom, alkaryl wherein the aryl group is bonded to a carbon atom which is 3 or more carbon atoms from X, alkyl group with a cycloalkyl group bonded to a carbon atom which is 3 or more carbon atoms from the X, a polyalkylene or ether;
• R3 is separately in each occurrence a polyvalent hydrocarbon group;
• R′ is separately in each occurrence hydrocarbyl or hydrogen;
• X is a heteroatom or a direct bond;
• a is separately in each occurrence an integer of 1 or more;
• b is separately in each occurrence an integer of 0 or more wherein the sum of a and b is 2 or greater and the number of valences of R3 is equal to the sum of a and b;
• wherein the one or more 1,1-dicarbonyl-substituted alkene compounds exhibit a purity of 95 mole percent or greater, have one mole percent or less of the analogous 1,1-di-substituted alkane, 1 mole percent or less of an impurity containing a dioxane group, about 1 mole percent of less of any impurity having the alkene group replaced by an analogous hydroxyalkyl group wherein mole percent is based on the total moles in the 1,1-dicarbonyl-substituted alkene compound;
• and the one or more multifunctional 1,1-dicarbonyl-substituted alkene compounds are present in an amount of about 1 weight percent to less than 100 weight percent.