Cationic coordinated polymerizations mechanisms

Epichlorohydrin Elastomers without AGE. Polymerization on a commercial scale is done as either a solution or slurry process at 40—130°C in an aromatic, ahphatic, or ether solvent. Typical solvents are toluene, benzene, heptane, and diethyl ether. Trialkylaluniinum-water and triaLkylaluminum—water—acetylacetone catalysts are employed. A cationic, coordination mechanism is proposed for chain propagation. The product is isolated by steam coagulation. Polymerization is done as a continuous process in which the solvent, catalyst, and monomer are fed to a back-mixed reactor. Pinal product composition of ECH—EO is determined by careful control of the unreacted, or background, monomer in the reactor. In the manufacture of copolymers, the relative reactivity ratios must be considered. The reactivity ratio of EO to ECH has been estimated to be approximately 7 (35—37). 

The general subject of lactone polymerization has been reviewed (7, 19). Polymerization of e-caprolactone can be effected by at least four different mechanisms categorized as anionic, cationic, coordination, and radical. Each method has unique attributes, providing... 

Chain gro tvth polymerization begins when a reactive species and a monomer react to form an active site. There are four principal mechanisms of chain growth polymerization free radical, anionic, cationic, and coordination polymerization. The names of the first three refer to the chemical nature of the active group at the growing end of the monomer. The last type, coordination polymerization, encompasses reactions in which polymers are manufactured in the presence of a catalyst. Coordination polymerization may occur via a free radical, anionic, or cationic reaction. The catalyst acts to increase the speed of the reaction and to provide improved control of the process. 

First, new "living" initiators have been discovered (although not always as efficient), which respond to other mechanisms, i.e. cationic (5) or even radical ones (6), and can accordingly accomodate other types of monomers. A recent typical example is the coordination polymerization of butadiene by bis (n3-allyl-trifluoro-acetato-nickel) to yield a "living" pure 1.4 cis-poly-butadienyl-nickel, able to initiate in turn the polymerization of monomers like isoprene or styrene (7). 

ROP of p-lactones is highly prone to numerous side reactions, such as transester-fication, chain-transfer or multiple hydrogen transfer reactions (proton or hydride). Specifically, the latter often causes unwanted functionalities such as crotonate and results in loss over molecular weight control. Above all, backbiting decreases chain length, yielding macrocyclic structures. All these undesired influences are dependent on the reaction conditions such as applied initiator or catalyst, temperature, solvent, or concentration. The easiest way to suppress these side reactions is the coordination of the reactive group to a Lewis acid in conjunction with mild conditions [71]. p-BL can be polymerized cationically and enzymatically but, due to the mentioned facts, the coordinative insertion mechanism is the most favorable. Whereas cationic and enzymatic mechanisms share common mechanistic characteristics, the latter method offers not only the possibility to influence... 

A very broad range of initiators and catalysts are reported in the scientific literature to polymerize lactones. The polymerization mechanisms can be roughly divided into five categories, i.e., anionic polymerization, coordination polymerization, cationic polymerization, organocatalytic polymerization, and enzymatic polymerization. 

Lewis acids were also screened for the ROP of lactones [65]. The polymerization takes place according to a cationic mechanism provided that the counterion is not too nucleophilic. Conversely, when Lewis acids with a nucleophilic counterion are used, several examples are reported where the polymerization takes place according to the usual coordination-insertion mechanism (Fig. 12). This coordination-insertion mechanism was indeed reported for the ROP initiated by ZnCl2 [66], TiCU, and AICI3 [67]. 

Polyethers are prepared by the ring opening polymerization of three, four, five, seven, and higher member cyclic ethers. Polyalkylene oxides from ethylene or propylene oxide and from epichlorohydrin are the most common commercial materials. They seem to be the most reactive alkylene oxides and can be polymerized by cationic, anionic, and coordinated nucleophilic mechanisms. For example, ethylene oxide is polymerized by an alkaline catalyst to generate a living polymer in Figure 1.1. Upon addition of a second alkylene oxide monomer, it is possible to produce a block copolymer (Fig. 1.2). 

Cationic polymerization of alkylene oxides generally produces low molecular weight polymers, although some work [26] seems to indicate that this difficulty can be overcome by the presence of an alcohol (Fig. 1.3). Higher molecular weight polyethylene oxides can be prepared by a coordinated nucleophilic mechanism that employs such catalysts as alkoxides, oxides, carbonates, and carboxylates, or chelates of alkaline earth metals (Fig. 1.4). An aluminum-porphyrin complex is claimed to generate immortal polymers from alkylene oxides that are totally free from termination reaction [27]. 

Key steps of the polymerization mechanism are the coordination of the monomer to the coordinatively unsaturated cationic metal center followed by alkyl migration (insertion) into the metal-carbon bond to form the polymer chain and recreating the vacant coordination site, which allows the subsequent coordination of the next monomer ... 

In the past few years the use of aluminum alkyls as catalysts for cyclic ether polymerizations has received much attention. Two different mechanisms have been proposed to explain the catalytic activity of the aluminum alkyl catalysts. Saegusa, Imai, and Furukawa (75) suggest that a cationic mechanism is produced. They feel it is not related to the coordinate anionic mechanism presumed to take place with related catalyst systems used for aldehydes and epoxides. They propose that the Lewis acid first reacts with adventitious water to form a Bronsted acid. ... 

Abstract. This paper reviews ring-opening polymerization of lactones and lactides with different types of initiators and catalysts as well as their use in the synthesis of macromolecules with advanced architecture. The purpose of this paper is to review the latest developments within the coordination-insertion mechanism, and to describe the mechanisms and typical kinetic features. Cationic and anionic ring-opening polymerizations are mentioned only briefly. 

Depending on the initiator, the polymerization proceeds according to three different major reaction mechanisms [18], viz., cationic, anionic, or coordination-insertion mechanisms [19-21]. In addition, radical, zwitterionic [22], or active hydrogen [18] initiation is possible, although such techniques are not used to any great extent. The focus in this review is on the coordination-insertion mechanism and the other methods are described only briefly. 

Ring-opening polymerization is an important field of research in the chemistry of polymer synthesis. Usually, it proceeds by ionic mechanisms, i.e. cationic, anionic and coordinate anionic mechanisms. Research on ring-opening polymerization proceeding via free-radical propagating species in which the so-called molecular design of monomer plays an important role has recently been reported. 

The importance of the electrophilic character of the cation in organo-alkali compounds has been discussed by Morton (793,194) for a variety of reactions. Roha (195) reviewed the polymerization of diolefins with emphasis on the electrophilic metal component of the catalyst. In essence, this review willattempt to treat coordination polymerization with a wide variety of organometallic catalysts in a similar manner irrespective of the initiation and propagation mechanisms. The discussion will be restricted to the polymerization of olefins, vinyl monomers and diolefins, although it is evident that coordinated anionic and cationic mechanisms apply equally well to alkyl metal catalyzed polymerizations of polar monomers such as aldehydes and ketones. 

Since butadiene can also undergo coordinated anionic polymerizations, some of the differences in polymer microstructure are attributable to changes in mechanism. Based on the catalysts reported to date, the isotactic and syndiotactic 1,2-polybutadienes appear to arise from coordinated anionic mechanisms. Qs and trans 1,4-polybutadienes can probably be made by all mechanisms, with cis arising from soluble catalysts which are capable of multi-coordination at one metal site. Trans structure is favored by cationic mechanism and by anionic mechanism involving coordination at two metal centers. 

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