Procedure 9.5.a Encapsulation of the VO acac 2 Catalyst

Slowly allow the mixture to cool to 0 °C while maintaining vigorous stirring. The polystyrene will solidify around the catalyst as it cools. 

Add 30 ml hexane—this will harden the capsule walls—and stir for 1 h at room 

Wash the polymer-catalyst mixture several times with hexane to ensure there is no free catalyst not encapsulated in the polymer. 

Dry your polymer-catalyst mixture under vacuum overnight. 

Measure the mass of the polymer-catalyst mixture to determine how much VO(acac)2 is encapsulated into the polymer. 

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