Insertion Polymerization Research Articles

Cationic half-sandwich rare-earth metal alkyl species catalyzed polymerization and copolymerization of aryl isocyanides possessing polar, bulky, or chiral substituents

Cationic half-sandwich rare-earth metal alkyl species were first used for the coordination–insertion polymerization and copolymerization of aryl isocyanides.

Ziegler–Natta polymerization and the remaining challenges

Polymers have become indispensable in the 21st century, and today we cannot imagine life without them. However, till around the beginning of the last century, the science of polymers was considered a very primitive discipline, and majority of the scientific community did not believe that polymers even existed. Hermann Staudinger, among others, fought a long battle to convince the scientific community that polymers are real and that they are long chain molecular entities. Building on this rational bedrock of polymer science, Prof. Karl Ziegler laid the foundation of ethylene polymerization. As outlined by Dr. Sivaram in his articles on Ziegler and Natta, careful observations and systematic analyses of serendipitous results enabled Ziegler to deveop the enormously significant ‘Mulheim atmospheric polyethylene process’. A decade later, Cossee and Arlman revealed the mechanism of this polymerization reaction, which is called ‘insertion polymerization’. Insertion polymerization is popularly known as the ‘Ziegler–Natta polymerization’, in recognition of its founding fathers. Today, the world produces about 180 million tons of polyolefins annually, and polyethylene or polythene has become a household name. In this article, I shall present an overview of Ziegler–Natta polymerization. I will highlight the mechanism of this reaction, and outline the progress made in the last seven decades using some real-world examples. The last part of this artificle will take a stock of the unresolved challenges posed by Ziegler–Natta polymerization, briefiy discuss current solutions, and reiterate the enormous potential of this seventy-year-old reaction to meet contemporary challenges.

High‐Impact Polyamide Composites with Linear Ethylene–Norbornene Anhydride Copolymers from Insertion Polymerization

AbstractToughening of polyamide 66 with novel linear norbornene anhydride functionalized polyethylenes leads to an impact performance in the Charpy‐notch impact testing at 23 °C and −30 °C as high as aCN = 18.0 ± 1.0 and 13.7 ± 0.8 kJ m−2, respectively, which compares favorably to a state of the art functional low density polyethylene (LDPE) from high‐pressure copolymerization with a Charpy‐notch impact strength of aCN = 16.8 ± 0.0 and 13.8 ± 2.1 kJ m−2 at 23 and −30 °C, respectively. The linear copolymers are obtained by insertion polymerization at mild ethylene pressures of 5 to 15 bars with phosphinesulfonato Pd (II) catalysts, to yield linear copolymers with norbornene anhydride incorporations as high as 4.8 mol% along with a polymer molecular weight of >105 g mol−1. Furthermore, the norbornene anhydride functionality serves as a reaction site for postpolymerization functionalization with alcohols to obtain the respective half‐ and diesters of the anhydride functionality. Notably, the impact performance is improved with the increase of the alkyl chain length and degree of branching of the ester functionality in the order methanol < n‐butanol < 2‐ethyl hexanol from 10.0 to 13.8 kJ m−2.

Precision Synthesis of Ethylene and Polar Monomer Copolymers by Palladium-Catalyzed Living Coordination Copolymerization

Coordination insertion polymerization is unsurpassed as a straightforward method for synthesis of high-value polyolefins by the copolymerization of ethylene and polar monomers, but poison effects of polar groups on the metal center result in a lack of fine control over the polymer architecture. Herein we reported a thermally stable dibenzobarrelene-derived α-diimine palladium catalyst for the precision synthesis of functionalized polyolefins by living copolymerization of ethylene and a variety of acrylate comonomers. The introduction of the bulky dibenzobarrelene backbone can improve migratory insertion selectivity of methyl acrylate (MA) in a 2,1-mode, thus preventing polar groups from poisoning palladium centers by stable five-membered palladacycle intermediates formed by 1,2-insertion of MA. In this living chain-walking catalyst system, the composition, molecular weight, and branching topology of the copolymer can be facilely tunable by simple variation of the ethylene pressure.

Flexibility and Stability of Metal Coordination Macromolecules.

The effect of chain structure on flexibility and stability of macromolecules containing weak P-Fe metal coordination bonds is studied. Migration insertion polymerization (MIP) of FpCX Fp (1) and PR2 CY PR2 (2) (Fp: CpFe(CO)2 ; CX and CY : alkyl spacers; P: phosphine; R: phenyl or isopropyl) generates P(1/2), in which the P-Fe and Fe-P bonds with opposite bonding direction are alternatively arranged in the backbone. On the other hand, P(FpCX P) synthesized from AB-type monomers (FpCX P) has P-Fe bonds arranged in the same direction. P(1/2) is more rigid and stable than P(FpCX P), which is attributed to the chain conformation resulting from the P-Fe bonding direction. In addition, the longer spacers render P(1/2) relatively flexible; the phenyl substituents, as compared with the isopropyl groups, improves the rigidity, thermal, and solution stability of P(1/2). It is therefore possible to incorporate weak metal coordination bonds into macromolecules with improved stability and adjustable flexibility for material processing.

Synergetic Effect of Monomer Functional Group Coordination in Catalytic Insertion Polymerization.

PhS- and PhNH-functionalized dienes are copolymerized efficiently with butadiene to stereoregular copolymers by [(mesitylene)Ni(allyl)][BArF4] (Ni-1). Overall polymerization rates and comonomer incorporations depend strongly on the linker length between the diene moiety and functional group, in, e.g., PhS-(CH2)xC(═CH2)-CH═CH2 (PhS-x-BD, x = 3-7), in particular for certain linker lengths high comonomer reactivity ratios stand out. This effect is related to a favorable binding of the comonomer to the active site comprising coordination of its functional group, which significantly enhances comonomer incorporation in the growing polymer chain.

A Simple and Efficient Protocol for the Catalytic Insertion Polymerization of Functional Norbornenes.

Norbornene can be polymerized by a variety of mechanisms, including insertion polymerization whereby the double bond is polymerized and the bicyclic nature of the monomer is conserved. The resulting polymer, polynorbornene, has a very high glass transition temperature, Tg, and interesting optical and electrical properties. However, the polymerization of functional norbornenes by this mechanism is complicated by the fact that the endo substituted norbornene monomer has, in general, a very low reactivity. Furthermore, the separation of the endo substituted monomer from the exo monomer is a tedious task. Here, we present a simple protocol for the polymerization of substituted norbornenes (endo:exo ca. 80:20) bearing either a carboxylic acid or a pendant double bond. The process does not require that both isomers be separated, and proceeds with low catalyst loadings (0.01 to 0.02 mol%). The polymer bearing pendant double bonds can be further transformed in high yield, to afford a polymer bearing pendant epoxy groups. These simple procedures can be applied to prepare polynorbornenes with a variety of functional groups, such as esters, alcohols, imides, double bonds, carboxylic acids, bromo-alkyls, aldehydes and anhydrides.

A Simple and Efficient Protocol for the Catalytic Insertion Polymerization of Functional Norbornenes

A Simple and Efficient Protocol for the Catalytic Insertion Polymerization of Functional Norbornenes

The Postsynthetic Renaissance in Porous Solids.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have rapidly grown into a major area of chemical research over the last two decades. MOFs represent the development of covalent chemistry "beyond the molecule" and into extended structures. MOFs also present an unprecedented scaffold for performing heterogeneous organic transformations in the solid state, allowing for deliberate and precise preparation of new materials. The development of these transformations has given rise to the "postsynthetic renaissance", a suite of methods by which these materials can be transformed in a single-crystal-to-single-crystal manner. Postsynthetic modification, postsynthetic deprotection, postsynthetic exchange, postsynthetic insertion, and postsynthetic polymerization have exploited the unique features of both the organic and inorganic components of MOFs to create crystalline, porous solids of unique complexity and functionality.

Tandem Ring-Opening Metathesis - Vinyl Insertion Polymerization: Fundamentals and Application to Functional Polyolefins.

The accomplishments in the copolymerization of ethylene with cyclic olefins such as norborn-2-ene or cis-cyclooctene via tandem ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) - vinyl insertion polymerization (VIP) are outlined. This approach provides polyolefins with high molecular weight (600,000 < Mn < 4,500,000 g mol-1 ) and substantial amounts of double bonds along the polymer main chain. Olefinic moieties in ROMP-derived polymers can be converted into hydroxyl, amino, silyl, ester, or carboxylate groups by different means including controlled radical polymerization-based grafting. The underlying concept for the switch in polymerization mechanism, the resulting pre-catalyst requirements, limitations and challenges and the chemistry developed for functionalizing unsaturated polymers are outlined in detail.

Direct Synthesis of Telechelic Polyethylene by Selective Insertion Polymerization.

A single-step route to telechelic polyethylene (PE) is enabled by selective insertion polymerization. PdII -catalyzed copolymerization of ethylene and 2-vinylfuran (VF) generates α,ω-di-furan telechelic polyethylene. Orthogonally reactive exclusively in-chain anhydride groups are formed by terpolymerization with carbic anhydride. Combined experimental and theoretical DFT studies reveal the key for this direct approach to telechelics to be a match of the comonomers' different electronics and bulk. Identified essential features of the comonomer are that it is an electron-rich olefin that forms an insertion product stabilized by an additional interaction, namely a π-η3 interaction for the case of VF.

Direct Synthesis of Telechelic Polyethylene by Selective Insertion Polymerization

AbstractA single‐step route to telechelic polyethylene (PE) is enabled by selective insertion polymerization. PdII‐catalyzed copolymerization of ethylene and 2‐vinylfuran (VF) generates α,ω‐di‐furan telechelic polyethylene. Orthogonally reactive exclusively in‐chain anhydride groups are formed by terpolymerization with carbic anhydride. Combined experimental and theoretical DFT studies reveal the key for this direct approach to telechelics to be a match of the comonomers’ different electronics and bulk. Identified essential features of the comonomer are that it is an electron‐rich olefin that forms an insertion product stabilized by an additional interaction, namely a π–η3 interaction for the case of VF.

Insertion Polymerization of Divinyl Formal

Copolymerization of ethylene and divinyl formal by [{κ2-P,O-(2-MeOC6H4)2PC6H4SO3}PdMe(dmso)] (1) by a coordination–insertion mechanism affords highly linear polyethylenes with a high (12.5 mol %) incorporation of divinyl formal. This significantly exceeds the thus far relatively low incorporation (6.9 mol %) and activity with vinyl ether monomer in insertion polymerization. The resulting ethylene–divinyl formal copolymers exclusively (>98%) contain five-membered (trans-1,3-dioxolane) and six-membered (cis-/trans-1,3-dioxane) cyclic acetal units in the main chain, and also in the initiating ends of this functionalized polyethylene. Comprehensive NMR analysis of the microstructure of these copolymers revealed that under pressure reactor conditions consecutive 2,1–1,2-insertion of divinyl formal into a Pd–H bond is preferred, but consecutive 1,2–1,2-insertion of divinyl formal into more bulky Pd–alkyls (growing polymer chain) is favored. Moreover, homopolymerization of divinyl formal yielded a non-cross-link...

Conserved Patterns of Microbial Immune Escape: Pathogenic Microbes of Diverse Origin Target the Human Terminal Complement Inhibitor Vitronectin via a Single Common Motif.

Pathogenicity of many microbes relies on their capacity to resist innate immunity, and to survive and persist in an immunocompetent human host microbes have developed highly efficient and sophisticated complement evasion strategies. Here we show that different human pathogens including Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, as well as the fungal pathogen Candida albicans, acquire the human terminal complement regulator vitronectin to their surface. By using truncated vitronectin fragments we found that all analyzed microbial pathogens (n = 13) bound human vitronectin via the same C-terminal heparin-binding domain (amino acids 352–374). This specific interaction leaves the terminal complement complex (TCC) regulatory region of vitronectin accessible, allowing inhibition of C5b-7 membrane insertion and C9 polymerization. Vitronectin complexed with the various microbes and corresponding proteins was thus functionally active and inhibited complement-mediated C5b-9 deposition. Taken together, diverse microbial pathogens expressing different structurally unrelated vitronectin-binding molecules interact with host vitronectin via the same conserved region to allow versatile control of the host innate immune response.

UltrahighTgEpoxy Thermosets Based on Insertion Polynorbornenes

Thermosetting materials (thermosets) are widely used organic materials derived from 3D-network forming monomers. Achieving high glass transition temperature (Tg) thermosets is often a challenging task due to the complexity of designing efficiently and cheaply monomers which are rigid enough to prevent molecular motions within the thermoset. We report here a very simple route to prepare epoxy thermosets with Tg as high as 350 °C, based on insertion polynorbornenes. The epoxy monomer (PNBE(epoxy)) is prepared by the epoxidation of poly(5-vinylnorbornene) obtained by catalytic insertion polymerization of 5-vinylnorbornene. PNBE(epoxy) can be cross-linked with simple biosourced compounds. Alternatively, polar insertion polynorbornene can also be used as cross-linker in the formulation of an epoxy resin, once again resulting in epoxy resins with Tg higher than 300 °C and devoid of degradation at this temperature. Thus, this study clearly demonstrates the viability of catalytic polymerization to access epoxy th...

High Tg sulfonated insertion polynorbornene ionomers prepared by catalytic insertion polymerization

A simple method to synthesize high Tg sulfonated ionomers based on catalytic insertion polynorbornene is reported. Copolymers of norbornene and 5-methyl alcohol norbornene (endo:exo = 82:18) or 5-methyl bromide norbornene (endo:exo = 86:14) as well as terpolymers of norbornene, 5-methyl alcohol norbornene and 5-hexyl norbornene are prepared using a cationic Pd catalyst. These copolymers are then thioacetylated. Using hydrogen peroxide as oxidant, a sulfonated polynorbornene is obtained. Ionomers containing as much as 30 mol% SO3H and with Tgs above 200 °C are obtained in a four-step procedure of overall 40–75% yield.

Solvent-dependent chain conformation for ring closure of metal carbonyl oligomers via migration insertion polymerization (MIP) of CpFe(CO)2(CH2)6PPh2

Solvent-induced chain conformation of cyclic PFpC6P via the migration insertion polymerization of CpFe(CO)2(CH2)6PPh2 (FpC6P) in THF/hexane mixed solvents.

End Group Functionalization of PFpP Macromolecules Via Fp Migration Insertion Reactions.

PFpP macromolecules, synthesized via migration insertion polymerization of CpFe(CO)2 (CH2)3 PPh2 (FpP), exhibit reactive Fp end groups for further migration insertion reactions in the presence of phosphines. A number of alkyl diphenylphosphines with varied alkyl length, Ph2PCn (n = 6, 10, 18), have been prepared for the reaction, resulting in PFpP-PPh2Cn (n = 6, 10, 18) amphiphiles. The phosphines with longer alkyl chains impose steric hindrance for the reaction and therefore require longer reaction times and excess phosphines relative to PFpP.

Role of Radical Species in Salicylaldiminato Ni(II) Mediated Polymer Chain Growth: A Case Study for the Migratory Insertion Polymerization of Ethylene in the Presence of Methyl Methacrylate.

To date, an inconclusive and partially contradictive picture exists on the behavior of neutral Ni(II) insertion polymerization catalysts toward methyl methacrylate (MMA). We shed light on this issue by a combination of comprehensive mechanistic NMR and EPR studies, isolation of a key Ni(I) intermediate, and pressure reactor studies with ethylene and MMA, followed by detailed polymer analysis. An interlocking mechanistic picture of an insertion and a free radical polymerization is revealed. Both polymerizations run simultaneously (25 bar ethylene, neat MMA, 70 °C); however, the chain growth cycles are independent of each other, and therefore exclusively a physical mixture of homo-PE and homo-PMMA is obtained. A Ni-C bond cleavage was excluded as a free radical source. Rather a homolytic P-C bond cleavage in the labile aryl phosphine ligand and the reaction of low-valent Ni(0/I) species with specific iodo substituted N^O (Ar-I) ligands were shown to initiate radical MMA polymerizations. Several reductive elimination decomposition pathways of catalyst precursor or active intermediates were shown to form low-valent Ni species. One of those pathways is a bimolecular reductive coupling via intermediate (N^O)Ni(I) formation. These intermediate Ni(I) species can be prevented from ultimate decomposition by capturing with organic radical sources, forming insertion polymerization active [(N^O)Ni(II)-R] species and prolonging the ethylene polymerization activity.

Insertion Homo- and Copolymerization of Diallyl Ether.

The previously unresolved issue of polymerization of allyl monomers CH2 CHCH2 X is overcome by a palladium-catalyzed insertion polymerization of diallyl ether as a monomer. An enhanced 2,1-insertion of diallyl ether as compared to mono-allyl ether retards the formation of an unreactive five-membered cyclic O-chelate (after 1,2-insertion) that otherwise hinders further polymerization, and also enhances incorporation in ethylene polymers (20.4 mol %). Cyclic ether repeat units are formed selectively (96 %-99 %) by an intramolecular insertion of the second allyl moiety of the monomer. These features even enable a homopolymerization to yield polymers (poly-diallyl ether) with degrees of polymerization of DPn ≈44.