Dendrimers and star polymers have attracted much attention due to their ability to encapsulate and isolate various functional groups within their cores. This site isolation can help avoid certain modes of quenching or deactivation, which are common for small-molecular catalysts. Furthermore, in some cases, confinement of the catalytic center can lead to crucial changes in reaction selectivity. We have developed a new approach by covalently binding a ruthenium N-heterocyclic carbene catalyst (Ru-NHC) to a soluble star polymer. The resulting Ru-NHC star polymer exhibits good reactivity for olefin metathesis reactions, specifically ring opening metathesis polymerization, it is stable to exposure to air and moisture, and is easy to handle.

Ruthenium N-heterocyclic carbene star polymer

249th National Meeting (2015)

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