Polymeric ligands, transition metal polymer complexes

Stereospecific emulsion polymerization of butadiene has been achieved in the presence of soluble transition metal salts 350, 351). Polymer microstructure was controlled by varying the transition metal ion and its ligands. Although the initiation mechanism has not been determined, it is most likely to be of the coordinated radical type with steric control arising from the transition metal-diene complexes. 

A great variety of suitable polymers is accessible by polymerization of vinylic monomers, or by reaction of alcohols or amines with functionalized polymers such as chloromethylat polystyrene or methacryloylchloride. The functionality in the polymer may also a ligand which can bind transition metal complexes. Examples are poly-4-vinylpyridine and triphenylphosphine modified polymers. In all cases of reactively functionalized polymers, the loading with redox active species may also occur after film formation on the electrode surface but it was recognized that such a procedure may lead to inhomogeneous distribution of redox centers in the film... 

An alternative strategy to obtain silica immobilised catalysts, pioneered by Panster [23], is via the polycondensation or co-condensation of ligand functionalised alkoxysilanes. This co-condensation, later also referred to as the sol-gel process [24], appeared to be a very mild technique to immobilise catalysts and is also used for enzyme immobilisation. Several novel functional polymeric materials have been reported that enable transition metal complexation. 3-Chloropropyltrialkoxysilanes were converted into functionalised propyltrialkoxysilanes such as diphenylphosphine propyltrialkoxysilane. These compounds can be used to prepare surface modified inorganic materials. Two different routes towards these functional polymers can be envisioned (Figure 3.4). One can first prepare the metal complex and then proceed with the co-condensation reaction (route I), or one can prepare the metal complex after the... 

In 1996, Brookhart and co-workers developed a remarkable class of Pd complexes with sterically encumbered diimine ligands (Scheme 4, S4-1, S4-2, S4-4, and S4-5). These examples are capable of mediating the co-polymerization of ethylene with methyl acrylate (MA) to furnish highly branched PE with ester groups on the polymer chain ends by a chain-walking mechanism (Scheme 10). " This represents the first example of transition metal-catalyzed ethylene/MA co-polymerization via an insertion mechanism. The mechanism for co-polymerization is by 2,1-insertion of MA and subsequent chelate-ring expansion, followed by the insertion of ethylene units. The discovery of these diimine Pd catalysts has stimulated a resurgence of activity in the area of late transition metal-based molecular catalysis. Recently, the random incorporation of MA into linear PE by Pd-catalyzed insertion polymeriza-... 

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