Cyclopropenes (CPs), the most strained cyclic olefins, surprisingly have been rarely explored as monomers for ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP). We undertook the first systematic investigation of a library of functionalized 1,1- and 1,2-disubstituted CPs for ROMP, and discovered diverse and surprising reactivities depending on the substitutions on CPs. Some CPs undergo rapid and controlled homopolymerization to yield polymers with controlled MWs and low dispersities; some CPs do not homopolymerize but undergo alternating ROMP in a controlled fashion; some CPs however decompose the catalyst rapidly. We will present these reactivities of CPs, which can be fine-tuned via their substituents. Their ROMP adds to the repertoire of controlled polymerizations and creates a range of new, controlled, and functional polymer structures.

Surprising and diverse reactivities of cyclopropenes in ring-opening metathesis polymerization

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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