Sulfoxonium salts and their use as polymerization catalysts

A polymerizable composition which comprises

• (a) a compound, or mixture of compounds, capable of being transformed into a higher-molecular weight material under the influence of a cationic catalyst,
• (b) an effective amount of an aromatic sulfonylsulfoxonium salt of the formula ##STR16## where q is an integer of from 1 to 4,
• R denotes an aliphatic, cycloaliphatic or aromatic group of valency q, having from 1 to 25 carbon atoms and being directly linked through a carbon atom thereof to the sulfur atom of the indicated adjacent sulfonyl group,
• R.sup.6 denotes a hydrogen atom, an alkyl or aralkyl group of 1 to 25 carbon atoms, an acyl group of formula --COR.sup.9 or a group of formula
• --CO--NH--(CO).sub.r --R.sup.10 VII
• or ##STR17## one, but not both, of R and R.sup.6 denoting a homocyclic aromatic group of 6 to 25 carbon atoms or a heterocyclic aromatic group of 4 to 25 carbon atoms containing one or more nitrogen, oxygen or sulfur atoms in the aromatic ring,
• R.sup.7 denotes an alkyl group of 1 to 12 carbon atoms, an alkenyl group of 2 to 6 carbon atoms, a cycloalkyl group of 3 to 8 carbon atoms, a cycloalkylalkyl group of 4 to 10 carbon atoms, an aryl group of 6 to 24 carbon atoms, or an aralkyl group of 7 to 16 carbon atoms,
• R.sup.8 has the same meaning as R.sup.7, or R.sup.8 is a dialkylamino group of 2 to 6 carbon atoms, or if R.sup.7 is alkyl of 1 to 12 carbon atoms, R.sup.8 may also be an arylamino group of 6 to 8 carbon atoms,
• R.sup.9 denotes an alkyl, aryl, or aralkyl radical of 1 to 25 carbon atoms, directly linked through a carbon atom thereof to the indicated --CO-- group,
• r is zero or 1,
• R.sup.10 denotes an alkyl, aryl, or aralkyl radical of 1 to 25 carbon atoms, directly linked through a carbon atom thereof to, if r denotes zero, the indicated nitrogen atom, or if r denotes 1, the carbon atom of the indicated adjacent carbonyl group,
• R.sup.11 denotes an alkyl, aryl, or aralkyl radical of 1 to 25 carbon atoms, directly linked through a carbon atom thereof to the indicated sulfur atom,
• t represents 1, 2, or 3, and
• Z.sup.t- denotes a t-valent anion of a protic acid.