Olefin metathesis polymerization products

Important classes of olefin metathesis reactions include cross metathesis (CM), ring-closing metathesis (RCM), " acyclic diene metathesis polymerization (ADMET), and ringopening olefin metathesis polymerization (ROMP). > This chapter focuses on the last class of metathesis reactions, ROMP, and in particular on the stereochemistry of the resulting macromolecular products. 

Bent ansa-metallocenes of early transition metals (especially Ti, Zr, Hf) have attracted considerable interest due to their catalytic activity in the polymerization of a-olefins. Ruthenium-catalyzed olefin metathesis has been used to connect two Cp substituents coordinated to the same metal [120c, 121a] by RCM or to connect two bent metallocenes by cross metathesis [121b]. A remarkable influence of the catalyst on E/Z selectivity was described for the latter case while first-generation catalyst 9 yields a 1 1 mixture of E- and Z-dimer 127, -127 is the only product formed with 56d (Eq. 19). 

Olefin metathesis, an expression coined by Calderon in 1967,1 has been accurately described in Ivin and Mol s seminal text Olefin Metathesis and Metathesis Polymerization as the (apparent) interchange of carbon atoms between a pair of double bonds (ref. 2, p. 1). This remarkable conversion can be divided into three types of reactions, as illustrated in Fig. 8.1. These reactions have been used extensively in the synthesis of a broad range of both macromolecules and small molecules3 this chapter focuses on acyclic diene metathesis (ADMET) polymerization as a versatile route for the production of a wide range of functionalized polymers. 

Molybdenum allyl complexes react with surface OH groups to produce catalysts active for olefin metathesis.34 35 Using silica as a support for the heterog-enization of Ti and Zr complexes for the polymerization of ethylene did not give clear results.36 In these cases, HY zeolite appeared to be a more suitable support. The comparable productivity of the zeolite-supported catalyst with... 

More recently, the same principle was applied by the same authors to cyclic alkanes for catalytic ring expansion, contraction and metathesis-polymerization (Scheme 13.24) [44]. By using the tandem dehydrogenation-olefin metathesis system shown in Scheme 13.23, it was possible to achieve a metathesis-cyclooligomerization of COA and cyclodecane (CDA). This afforded cycloalkanes with different carbon numbers, predominantly multiples of the substrate carbon number the major products were dimers, with successively smaller proportions of higher cyclo-oligomers and polymers. 

The alkene metathesis reaction arose serendipitously from the exploration of transition-metal-catalysed alkene polymerisation. Due to the complexity of the polymeric products, the metathetic nature of the reaction seems to have been overlooked in early reports. However, in 1964, Banks and Bailey reported on what was described as the olefin disproportionation of acyclic alkenes where exchange was evident due to the monomeric nature of the products [8]. The reaction was actually a combination of isomerisation and metathesis, leading to complex mixtures, but by 1966 Calderon and co-workers had reported on the preparation of a homogeneous W/Al-based catalyst system that effected extraordinarily rapid alkylidene... 

In general, there are three modes of olefin metathesis ring closing metathesis (RCM),M ring opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP),5-6 and cross metathesis (CM).7-9 Although all three have industrial applications, the main use of olefin metathesis for fine chemicals production lies in the modes of CM and RCM (Scheme 28.1). 

The reaction is applied in industrial processes (Phillips triolefin process. Shell higher olefin process) and has importance in ring opening-metathesis polymerization (ROMP) in polymer chemistry [1]. In the past, olefin metathesis was not commonly applied in organic synthesis [2] because of the reversibility of the reaction, leading to olefin mixtures. In contrast, industrial processes often handle product mixtures easily. In ROMP, highly strained cyclic olefins allow the equilibrium of the reaction to be shifted towards the product side. 

Olefin metathesis was first discovered during research stemming from Ziegler-Natta polymerization catalysis in the late 1950s [13-15]. The term olefin metathesis was not coined until 1967 [16]. Olefin metathesis is the apparent exchange of the carbons of olefins to produce new olefins. Empirically, this process can swap the substituents of olefins to give aU possible products (Scheme 6.1). 

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