Copolymerisation of Ethylene and a-Olefins with

4 Copolymerisation of Ethylene and a-Olefins with Carbon Monoxide 

Carbon monoxide, which is characterised by a carbene-like structure C = o - ---- C o  

In the case of ethylene/carbon monoxide copolymerisation with nickel- and palladium-based catalysts, a strictly alternating high molecular weight copolymer is formed (average molecular weight in the range 10 x 103 100 x 103).When more developed catalysts are used, the copolymerisation conditions can be mild a temperature of 25 °C combined with a pressure of ca 20 atm. The obtained copolymer, poly(ethylene-c// -carbon monoxide), poly(l-oxytrimethylene) 

Catalysts for ethylene/carbon monoxide copolymerisation were initially obtained from Ni(II) derivatives, such as K2Ni(CN)4 and (w-Bu4N)2 Ni(CN)4, and Pd(II) derivatives, such as [(w-Bu3P)PdCl2]2, Pd(CN)2 and HPd(CN)3, often combined with alcohol or protonic acid as a cocatalyst [241]. It must be emphasised that, in contrast to titanium-, zirconium- or vanadium-based catalysts, nickel- and palladium-based catalysts tolerate polar functional groups (including hydroxyl, carboxylic and sulfonic groups) 

Active sites present in palladium-based catalysts, which promote the alternating insertion of coordinating comonomers, ethylene to the acyl Pd-C(O) bond and carbon monoxide to the alkyl Pd-CH2 bond, appear to be cationic Pd(II) species with a square planar, formally d° 8-electron structure, [L2(M)Pd(II)—P ]+, accompanied with weakly coordinating counter-anions [478 180,484], 

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