Herein we describe the investigation of bimetallic chromium catalysts for the enantioselective polymerization of propylene oxide. The catalyst is composed of two salen chromium species linked by an alkyl chain, the length of which significantly impacts the rate of polymerization. While the use of a chloride initiator on the catalyst resulted in bimodal molecular weight distributions, switching to a trifluoroacetate initiating group and adding a diol chain transfer agent afforded a living polymerization system. This system enabled access to both isotactic and stereoblock polymers with low, unimodal dispersities from racemic monomer.

Bimetallic chromium catalysts with chain transfer agents: A new route to isotactic poly(propylene oxide)s with narrow dispersities

256th National Meeting (2018)

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