Stereospecificity of polymerization

In this review, contributions of selected experimental and molecular modeling studies to the elucidation of even fine details relative to the stereospecificity of polymerization catalytic systems are outlined. 

Relationship of Anion Pair Structure to Stereospecificity of Polymerization... 

Polymerization of aldehyde by typical cationic catalysts such as sulfuric acid and titanium tetrachloride is considered to reflect the steric factor. Acetaldehyde gave an isotactic-rich amorphous polymer whereas propionaldehyde and higher aldehydes gave isotactic crystalline ones. The yield of polymer and the stereospecificity of polymerization increased with the increase in the bulkiness of the alkyl group of the aldehyde (Table 7). 

The nature of the alkyl groups (R) in R2A10A1R2 affects the polymerization results. The stereospecificity of polymerization (content of... 

Rigorously purified EtZnNBu ZnEt alone has practically no catalytic activity for purified propylene oxide and requires a cocatalyst, for example, water, for acquiring catalytic activity. In what manner does the added water affect the rate and stereospecificity of polymerization and the microstructure of polymer The microstructure analysis method by H-NMR techniques was expected to give a relevant answer to this question. 

Ziegler-Natta Homo- and heterogeneous Ziegler-Natta catalysts Compares stereospecificity of polymerization for homo- and heterogeneous systems develops a model for the catalytic sites 63... 

The nature of the above eqiulibria and the predominant species among three dimeric forms A, B and C will vary with the group R, solvent, temperature and ctmcen-tration. It was suggested from the NMR spectra of the catalysts that the stereospecificity of polymerization depends not only on the structure of the R group but also on the form of the dimeric species. 

In an ionic polymerization the strong electrostatic field of the ion pairs should have a pronounced effect on the ratio of the probabilities of the two placements. Furthermore, solvation of an ion pair is much stronger than of a neutral radical, hence the influence of a solvent on stereospecificity of addition is expected to be much more pronounced in an ionic polymerization than in a radical polymerization. The nature of the gegen ion represents still another factor which is of extreme importance in determining the stereospecificity of the polymerization. 

Polymerization of butadiene and of isoprene confronts us with still another configurational problem. The addition may take place in either the 1,2 or 1,4 positions (with an additional possibility of 3,4 addition in the case of isoprene), and, moreover, in the 1,4 addition the new unit may acquire a cis or a trans configuration. It is known that by proper choice of a catalyst and by judicious adjustment of polymerization conditions processes can be developed which yield polymers of high stereospecificity, namely all 1,4 cis, all 1,4 trans, all 1,2 isotactic, or all 1,2 syndiotactic polymers. 

The structure of the chain, i.e., whether it is a helix or a random coil, might influence not only the rate but also the stereospecificity of the growing polymer. For example, it is plausible to expect that in normal vinyl polymerization helix formation might favor specific placement, say isotactic, while either placement would be approximately equally probable in a growing random coil. Formation of a helix requires interaction between polymer segments, and this intramolecular interaction is enhanced by bad solvents particularly those which precipitate the polymer. 

The application of these catalysts in the initial state (without any special treatment of the surface organometallic complexes of such cata-lysts) for ethylene polymerization has been described above. The catalysts formed by the reaction of 7r-allyl compounds with Si02 and AUOj were found to be active in the polymerization of butadiene as well (8, 142). The stereospecificity of the supported catalyst differed from that of the initial ir-allyl compounds. n-Allyl complexes of Mo and W supported on silica were found to be active in olefin disproportionation (142a). 

The polymerization is normally carried out in non-aromatic solvents, such as cyclohexane and n-hexane, at temperatures of 50 to 90 °C.Temperatures within this range influence the stereospecificity of the polymerization to only a small extent. These catalysts, unlike ones based on uranium, do not have to be preformed. ... 

The course of stereospecific olefin polymerization was studied by using the molecular mechanics programs, MM-2 and Biograph, based on the optimized geometries of the ethylene complex and the transition state [13,203]. Interestingly, the steric interaction at the transition state mainly controls the stereochemistry in polymerization, which proceeds specifically isotactic or syndiotactic depending on the kind of catalyst. 

Highly Stereospecific Living Polymerization of Alkyl Methacrylates... 

The organolanthanide initiators allowed stereospecific polymerization of ethyl, isopropyl, and t-butyl methacrylates (Table 3). The rate of polymerization and the syndiotacticity decreased with increasing bulkiness of the alkyl group in... 

Rausch MD, Chien JCW, Thomas EJ (2000) Substituent effects on the stereospecificity of propylene polymerization by novel asymmetric bridged zirconocenes. A mechanistic discussion. Macromolecules 33 1546-1552... 

Polymerization reactions of olefins and dienes cannot be treated here in detail. Knowledge of the early steps which occur on nickel, as in oligomerization reactions, help explain the course of polymerization reactions and particularly their stereospecific character, as in Ziegler-Natta polymerization. 

The trans/cis ratio of the product must, therefore, be determined at an earlier reaction stage and most probably by the ratio of species 27a and 27b. Steric or electronic factors affecting this ratio will influence the trans/cis ratio of the resulting 1,4-hexadiene. The phosphine and the cocatalyst effect on the stereoselectivity can thus be interpreted in terms of their influence on the mode of butadiene coordination. Some earlier work on the stereospecific synthesis of polybutadiene by Ni catalyst can be adopted to explain the effect observed here, because the intermediates that control the stereospecificity of the polymerization should be essen-... 

In Section 2 a brief description of the generally assumed polymerization mechanism and the elements of chirality for the stereospecific olefin polymerization is presented. 

A large part of the stereospecific behavior of polymerization catalysts presented in this review can be rationalized in the framework of a stereoselectivity mechanism involving a chiral orientation of the growing chain. The discovery... 

He was a Professor of Industrial Chemistry, School of Engineering, Polytechnic Institute of Milan, Milan, Italy since 1937. He became involved with applied research, which led to the production of synthetic rubber in Italy, at the Institute in 1938. He was also interested in the synthesis of petrochemicals such as butadiene and, later, oxo alcohols. At the same time he made important contributions to the understanding of the kinetics of some catalytic processes in both the heterogeneous (methanol synthesis) and homogeneous (oxosynthesis) phase. In 1950, as a result of his interest in petrochemistry, he initiated the research on the use of simple olefins for the synthesis of high polymers. This work led to the discovery, in 1954, of stereospecific polymerization. In this type of polymerization nonsymmetric monomers (e.g., propylene, 1-butene, etc.) produce linear high polymers with a stereoregular structure. 

Interest in optically active polymers arose from analogy with macromolecules of biological origin. In addition, there was the hope to obtain new information to clarify the stereochemical features of synthetic polymers this, in fact, did come about. Attempts to direct the course of polymerization using chiral reagents had been made already prior to the discovery of stereospecific polymerization. It was only after the 1950s, however, that the problem of polymer chirality was tackled in a rational way. The topic has been reviewed by several authors (251-257). In this section I shall try to illustrate three distinct aspects the prediction of chirality in macromolecular systems, the problems regarding the synthesis of optically active polymers, and polymer behavior in solution. 

For the polymerization of unsaturated monomers with organometallic compounds, the initiator concentration must generally be between 10" and 10 /mol of monomer cocatalysts are usually unnecessary. Polymerization frequently occurs at temperatures below 20 °C. Raising the temperature increases the rate of polymerization, but usually decreases the tacticity or tactic content when stereospecific initiators are used. An induction period is rarely observed. 

The initiation of polymerizations by metal-containing catalysts broadens the synthetic possibilities significantly. In many cases it is the only useful method to polymerize certain kinds of monomers or to polymerize them in a stereospecific way. Examples for metal-containing catalysts are chromium oxide-containing catalysts (Phillips-Catalysts) for ethylene polymerization, metal organic coordination catalysts (Ziegler-Natta catalysts) for the polymerization of ethylene, a-olefins and dienes (see Sect. 3.3.1), palladium catalysts and the metallocene catalysts (see Sect. 3.3.2) that initiate not only the polymerization of (cyclo)olefins and dienes but also of some polar monomers. 

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