METATHESIS COPOLYMER

Cyclic Polyolefins (GPO) and Gycloolefin Copolymers (GOG). Japanese and European companies are developing amorphous cycHc polyolefins as substrate materials for optical data storage (213—217). The materials are based on dicyclopentadiene and/or tetracyclododecene (10), where R = H, alkyl, or COOCH. Products are formed by Ziegler-Natta polymerization with addition of ethylene or propylene (11) or so-called metathesis polymerization and hydrogenation (12), (101,216). These products may stiU contain about 10% of the dicycHc stmcture (216). 

Aqueous ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) was first described in 1989 (90) and it has been appHed to maleic anhydride (91). Furan [110-00-9] reacts in a Diels-Alder reaction with maleic anhydride to give exo-7-oxabicyclo[2.2.1]hept-5-ene-2,3—dicarboxylate anhydride [6118-51 -0] (24). The condensed product is treated with a soluble mthenium(Ill) [7440-18-8] catalyst in water to give upon acidification the polymer (25). Several apphcations for this new copolymer have been suggested (91). 

Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization. Several new titanacyclobutanes have been shown to initiate living ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) systems. These have been used to make diblock and triblock copolymers of norbomene [498-66-8] (N) and its derivatives (eg, dicyclopentadiene [77-73-6] (D)) (Fig. 2) (41). 

The metathesis of alkyl- or aryl-substituted cycloalkenes provides a route to certain perfectly alternating copolymers. For example, metathesis of 5-methylcyclooctene leads to a polymer that may be considered as a... 

A chloro-substituted cycloalkene, 1-chloro-l, 5-cyclooctadiene, has also been converted by metathesis into a polymer, the perfectly alternating copolymer of butadiene and chloroprene (29). 

What can ADMET offer in terms of tailoring the properties of a given polymer The answer lies in the clean chemistry of metathesis. If a metathesis active a,co-diene can be synthesized, then a known polymer can be produced. Few other polymerization techniques are so versatile, yet so precise. In recent years, our group has focused attention toward modeling polymers and copolymers made from ethylene in particular, we have been examining the effect of precise placement of alkyl and polar branches sequentially along tire backbone of polyethylene. 

Brzezinska KR, Deming TJ (2001) Synthesis of ABA triblock copolymers via acyclic diene metathesis polymerization and living polymerization of alpha-amino acid-N-carboxyanhy-drides. Macromolecules 34 4348 354... 

ROMP is without doubt the most important incarnation of olefin metathesis in polymer chemistry [98]. Preconditions enabling this process involve a strained cyclic olefinic monomer and a suitable initiator. The driving force in ROMP is the release of ring strain, rendering the last step in the catalytic cycle irreversible (Scheme 3.6). The synthesis of well-defined polymers of complex architectures such as multi-functionaUsed block-copolymers is enabled by living polymerisation, one of the main benefits of ROMP [92, 98]. 

Controlling the exact architectnre of polymers has always attracted attention in macromolecular chemistry. Snccessfnl synthesis of alternating copolymers nsing ring opening metathesis polymerisation is of great interest also from a mechanistic perspective. NHC ligands were fonnd to be ideal to tune the selectivity of the metathesis initiators. 

Synthesis of Block Copolymers by Olefin Metathesis Polymerization... 

By contrast, much of the work performed using ruthenium-based catalysts has employed well-defined complexes. These have mostly been studied in the ATRP of MMA, and include complexes (158)-(165).400-405 Recent studies with (158) have shown the importance of amine additives which afford faster, more controlled polymerization.406 A fast polymerization has also been reported with a dimethylaminoindenyl analog of (161).407 The Grubbs-type metathesis initiator (165) polymerizes MMA without the need for an organic initiator, and may therefore be used to prepare block copolymers of MMA and 1,5-cyclooctadiene.405 Hydrogenation of this product yields PE-b-PMMA. N-heterocyclic carbene analogs of (164) have also been used to catalyze the free radical polymerization of both MMA and styrene.408... 

Conversions of about 80% were obtained within a few minutes at 90°C. The polymer could also be cleaved by cross-metathesis with an excess of 4-octene which gave, as the main product, 9-tridecenyl-7-undecenoate, thus confirming the structure assignment as indicated in Eq. (62). The unsaturated lactone was also copolymerized with cyclooctene, 1,5-cy-clooctadiene, and cyclopentene under the previously stated conditions to afford linear copolymers which were high molecular weight, unsaturated, rubbery polyesters (110). 

The presence of halogen atoms appears to exert little, if any, effect on catalyst activity, but it can influence the course of the metathesis reaction. Vinylic halides are unreactive, as exemplified by the ring-opening polymerization of l-chloro-l,5-cyclooctadiene, which afforded a perfectly alternating copolymer of butadiene and chloroprene (7/2) via polymerization exclusively through the unsubstituted double bond. 

Poly(l,4-naphthylenevinylenes) have been prepared by metathesis polymerization of benzobarrelenes [181,182] and the photoluminescence properties of homopolymers and block-copolymers have been studied in some detail [183]. PPV also has been prepared via ROMP of [2.2]paracyclophane-l,9-diene [184] and ROMP of a paracyclophene that contains a solubilizing leaving group [185]. The resulting polymer is converted to PPV upon acid catalysis at room temperature. ADMET of 2,5-dialkyl-l,4-divinylbenzenes using Mo or W catalysts has... 

With the details associated with ADMET chemistry reasonably well understood, we have embarked on a study of the synthesis of well-controlled polymer structures via metathesis polycondensation chemistry [37]. A series of well-defined polyolefins have been designed to model the crystallization behavior of polyethylene and its related copolymers, including new materials synthesized by metallocene-based catalysts. This synthesis concept has been reduced to practice, and polymers that will aid in the understanding of branching within polyethylene itself have been produced. 

An unusual synthetic approach to PF copolymers was demonstrated by Bunz and coworkers [370], who prepared poly(fluorene ethynylene) 281a-e by metathesis polymerization reaction (Scheme 2.44) [370], The aggregation of polymers 281 in concentrated solutions and in solid state is manifested in slight (up to 10-20 nm) red shift of the absorbance and emission peaks, although solutions and films emit pure blue light. 

SCHEME 2.44 Metathesis polymerization synthesis of fluorene-ethynyl copolymer 281. (From Pschirer, N.G. and Bunz, U.H.F., Macromolecules, 33, 3961, 2000.)... 

Ethylene-alkyne metathesis, 26 955-956 Ethylene-a-olefin copolymers,... 

Unlike in radical or anionic polymerizations, in ROMP with single-component metathesis catalysts the growing polymer chain remains able to further grow even after consumption of the monomer. This enables the manufacture of block copolymers with interesting physicochemical properties by sequential addition of different monomers to such living systems. 

The metathesis route opens up new opportunities for the synthesis of new copolymers by copolymerizing 6,7-dihydro-2(3//)-oxepinone with other cyclic olefins such as norbomene, even though this approach has barely been exploited until now [121]. 

Bazzi HS, Bouffard J, Sleiman HR Self-complementary ABC triblock copolymers via ringopening metathesis polymerization. Macromolecules 2003 36 7899-7902. 

Bazzi HS, Sleiman HR Adenine-containing block copolymers via ring-opening metathesis polymerization synthesis and self-assembly into rod morphologies. Macromolecules 2002 35 9617-9620. 

Chen B, Metera K, Sleiman HF. Biotin-terminated ruthenium hipyridine ring-opening metathesis polymerization copolymers synthesis and self-assemhly with streptavidin. Macromolecules 2005 38 1084-1090. 

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