Copolymerization, higher order models

Penpenultiraale and higher order remote unit effect models may also affect the outcome of copolymerizations. However, in most eases, experimental data, that are not sufficiently powerful to test the penultimate model, offer little hope of testing higher order models. The importance of remote unit effects on copolymerization will only be fully resolved when more powerful analytical techniques become available. 

However, these observations are not proof of the role of a donor-acceptor complex in the copolymerization mechanism. Even with the availability of sequence information it is often not possible to discriminate between the complex model, the penultimate model (Seetion 7.3.1.2) and other, higher order, models. A further problem in analyzing the kinetics of these copolymerizations is that many donor-acceptor systems also give spontaneous initiation (Section 3.3.6.3). 

The polymerization model most commonly adopted for olefin copolymerization is the terminal model, particularly for studies of polymerization kinetics. In the terminal model, only the last monomer molecule added to the chain end influences polymerization and transfer rates. Besides the fact that it is logically expected, there is also significant experimental evidence supporting the terminal model for olefin polymerization. Since monomer propagation and chain-transfer reactions take place by insertion between the chemical bond formed by the metal in the active site and the polymer chain end, it is certainly reasonable to assume that both the nature of the active site and the type of monomer last added to the chain will affect these reactions. On the other hand, higher-order models such as the penultimate and pen-penultimate models have not found widespread use in coordination polymerization. 

Higher order models of copolymerization and other complications... 

The f22 values are in general lower than those obtained for propene or other a-olefms, in agreement with the low homopolymerization activity of norbomene. The f22 value for catalyst 1-5 is much greater than ri2 this shows the tendency of this catalyst to insert a third norbomene after the second one. It was clear that the next-to-last E or norbomene monomer unit exerts an influence on the reactivity of the propagating Mt-E or Mt-N species, which depends upon the catalyst stmc-ture. The second-order Markov model must be used to describe E-N copolymerizations promoted by metallocenes I-l, 1-2, and IV-1. A third-order or a more complex model may be required to fit the experimental data obtained with catalyst 1-6, where more sterically hindered indene substitutions are dominant. At higher norbomene concentrations, copolymers with all catalysts may need more complex models. These results allowed the conclusion that E-N copolymerization is dominated by the bulkiness of the norbomene monomer and of the copolymer chain. 

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