STEREOREGULAR POLYMERISATION

The stereoregular polymerisation of propene may arise because of the nature of the sterically hindered surface sites on the TiCl3 lattice. 

Ziegler-Natta stereoregular polymerisation of a-olefins and dienes was discovered in 1954. This reaction opened opportunities for the synthesis of various stereoregular olefins and dienes. It occurs in the presence of catalytic systems, formed by organic... 

As a result of the work of Ziegler in Germany, Natta in Italy and Pease and Roedel in the United States, the process of co-ordination polymerisation, a process related to ionic polymerisation, became of significance in the late 1950s. This process is today used in the commercial manufacture of polypropylene and polyethylene and has also been used in the laboratory for the manufacture of many novel polymers. In principle the catalyst system used governs the way in which a monomer and a growing chain approach each other and because of this it is possible to produce stereoregular polymers. 

The interaction may not be quite as strong as in the case of 2,1 insertion discussed above, but there will always be a tendency of the growing chain to arrive at an isotactic stereochemistry when 1,2 insertion occurs. One example of chain-end control leading to isotactic polymer was reported by Ewen [13] using Cp2TiPh2/alumoxane as the catalyst. The stereoregularity increased with lower temperatures at -45 °C the isotactic index as measured on pentads amounted to 52 %. The polymer contains stereoblocks of isotactic polymer. At 25 °C the polymerisation gives almost random 1,2 insertion and an atactic polymer is formed. 

How the groups unravelled this phenomenon is an interesting detective story but for our purposes it is more convenient to progress directly to the conclusion. In Figure 10.19 we outlined the two modes of insertion that can occur, 1,2 and 2,1 insertion. The latter often leads to isomerisation via P-elimination and re-insertion, which will lower the stereoregularity. Another outcome, especially for catalysts that show little or no P-elimination would be to continue the polymerisation resulting in an error in the chain and hence a lower melting point of the polypropene. 

The stereoregularity of polymers relates not only to the configuration of four substituents attached to saturated carbon atoms in the polymer chains but also to the geometric isomerism, resulting from the presence of unsaturated carbon atoms in the polymer chains. Such isomerism appears in chains of polymers formed in the 1,4 polymerisation of conjugated dienes [scheme (19)] and the polymerisation of acetylenes [scheme (20)] as well as the ring-opening polymerisation of cycloolefins [scheme (16)] ... 

The Ziegler-Natta catalysts have acquired practical importance particularly as heterogeneous systems, mostly owing to the commercial production of linear high- and low-density polyethylenes and isotactic polypropylene. Elastomers based on ethylene-propylene copolymers (with the use of vanadium-based catalysts) as well as 1,4-cz s-and 1,4-tran.y-poly(l, 3-butadiene) and polyisoprene are also produced. These catalysts are extremely versatile and can be used in many other polymerisations of various hydrocarbon monomers, leading very often to polymers of different stereoregularity. In 1963, both Ziegler and Natta were awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry. 

Indicate monomers that might be polymerised to stereoregular polymers ... 

However, when one of the enantiomers is polymerised, the polymer formed contains predominantly stereoregular sequences characterised by an isotactic... 

As already discussed, most Ziegler-Natta and related coordination catalysts polymerise a-olefins by a 1,2-insertion mechanism, yielding highly regio- and stereoregular polymers. When some nickel-based coordination catalysts are used, however, isomerisation of the active species may accompany the propagation, and polymers containing 2, co-coupled monomeric units are formed [183,191],... 

By using chiral organolanthanide ansa-metallocenes for methyl methacrylate polymerisation, highly stereoregular poly(methyl methacrylate)s were obtained a syndiotactic or isotactic polymer could be synthesised, depending on the kind of metallocene catalyst [536],... 

Figure 3.59 Life cycles of catalysts for olefin coordination polymerisation (a) early-generation Ziegler-Natta catalysts for ethylene and propylene polymerisation (b) Phillips catalysts for ethylene polymerisation (c) fourth-generation Ziegler-Natta catalysts for ethylene polymerisation (d) fourth-generation Ziegler-Natta catalysts for propylene polymerisation (e) metallocene-based catalysts for olefin polymerisation leading to polymers of various stereoregularity...

Styrene polymerisation with heterogeneous Ziegler Natta catalysts activated by alkylaluminium compounds generally produces a mixture of isotactic and non-stereoregular polymer. For example, polystyrene produced with the... 

It is worth mentioning that a rar.- / ,v -titanocene methylaluminoxane catalyst, such as rac.-Ph2C(Cp)(Ind)TiCl2—[Al(Me)0]x, which yields an isotactic polymer in propylene polymerisation, promotes the syndiospecific polymerisation of styrene [73,100]. This is the first example where two different stereoregular polymers, isotactic and syndiotactic, can be obtained using the same catalyst in the case of two different monomers. 

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