Degradable copolymers of enol ethers with olefinic monomers

A method of forming a polymer, the method comprising:

• contacting one or more cycloalkenyl monomers with a ring-opening metathesis catalyst in the presence of an enol ether to provide a polymerizable solution;
• and
• initiating polymerization of the one or more cycloalkenyl monomers with the enol ether to provide a copolymer, wherein:
• the enol ether is a substituted or unsubstituted 2,3-dihydrofuran, a substituted or unsubstituted 2,3-dihydropyran, a mixture thereof, or a linear enol ether, and
• a rate of the polymerization of the one or more cycloalkenyl monomers with the enol ether is decreased relative to a rate of polymerization of the one or more cycloalkenyl monomers without the enol ether in the same conditions.

A method of forming a polymer via frontal ring-opening metathesis polymerization, the method comprising:

• (a) contacting a ring-opening metathesis catalyst with one or more cycloalkenyl monomer in the presence of an enol ether, and optionally in the presence of a solvent to provide a mixture;
• (b) contacting the mixture with a stimulus in one or more location for a period of time;
• and
• (c) initiating frontal ring-opening metathesis polymerization from the one or more location of the stimulus contact, wherein
• the enol ether is a substituted or unsubstituted 2,3-dihydrofuran, a substituted or unsubstituted 2,3-dihydropyran, a mixture thereof, or a linear enol ether, and
• the enol ether inhibits initiation of the frontal ring-opening metathesis polymerization at room temperature.