Functional polyolefins (f-PO) have long been synthetic targets in polymer chemistry. Catalysts competent to form f-PO by insertion polymerization are nevertheless dominated by palladium, which is impractical solution for large scale f-PO applications. This presentation will discuss two distinct approaches to generate f-PO architectures using non-precious metal catalysts. Nickel(II) catalysts capable of producing linear, statistical f-PO copolymers will be discussed, along with studies to understand their ligand-dependent control of activity, molecular weight, and competitive monomer enchainment. Alternatively, a coordinative chain transfer polymerization can be exploited to generate f-PO with chain end functionality that complement the main chain functional group incorporation of the nickel catalysts.

Non-precious metal catalysts for functional polyolefin synthesis

ACS Spring 2022

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