Phenol Oxidation Catalyzed by Polymer-Cu Complexes

We have selected the Cu-complex-catalyzed oxidative polymerization of phenols as a model reaction in which a polymer-metal complex acts as a catalyst. This reaction has some merits for the study of the catalytic mechanism of a polymer ligand. 

Organic compounds having mobile hydrogens, such as phenols141, phenylene-diamine142, and acetylene143, are oxidatively coupled in the presence of a metal complex to form polymeric compounds, as represented by Eqs. (17)—(19). These 

In the Cu-complex-catalyzed oxidative polymerization of phenols, the substrate (phenol) coordinates to the Cu(II) complex, is then activated, and the 

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