Telechelic Polyethylene from Catalyzed Chain-Growth Polymerization

The Highly Controlled and Efficient Polymerization of Ethylene

The highly controlled and efficient polymerization of ethylene is a very attractive but challenging target. Herein we report on a Coordinative Chain Transfer Polymerization catalyst, which combines a high degree of control and very high activity in ethylene oligo- or polymerization with extremely high chain transfer agent (triethylaluminum) to catalyst ratios (catalyst economy). Our Zr catalyst is long living and temperature stable. The chain length of the polyethylene products increases over time under constant ethylene feed or until a certain volume of ethylene is completely consumed to reach the expected molecular weight. Very high activities are observed if the catalyst elongates 60 000 or more alkyl chains and the polydispersity of the strictly linear polyethylene materials obtained are very low. The key for the combination of high control and efficiency seems to be a catalyst stabilized by only one strongly bound monoanionic N-ligand.

Chain Transfer to Toluene in Styrene Coordination Polymerization

The chain-transfer reaction is rather important in coordination polymerization regarding catalytic efficiency, adjustment of molecular weight, and control of chain structure. To date, chain transfer to H₂ and Al, Mg, and Zn alkyl compounds and β-H elimination are the commonly encountered modes. Now a novel chain transfer to toluene is reported. By introducing fluorine atoms into the β-diketimine ligands, an inert catalytic system for styrene (St) coordination polymerization was transferred into the highly active one. The activity increased with an increase in the number of fluorines in the ligands. Surprisingly, the molecular weights of resultant polystyrenes are very low (M_n =2000-6600 Da) despite of St loadings, corresponding up to 121 chains per active species. The mechanisms were investigated by DFT simulation, MALDI-TOF MS, isotope tracing experiment and 2D NMR spectrum analyses, which revealed that the fluorine activated the polymerization and directed chain transfer to toluene.

Coordinative Chain Transfer Polymerization of Butadiene with Functionalized Aluminum Reagents

Functionalized aluminum alkyls enable effective coordinative chain transfer polymerization with selective chain initiation by the functionalized alkyl. (ω-Aminoalkyl)diisobutylaluminum reagents (12 examples studied) obtained by hydroalumination of α-amino-ω-enes with diisobutylaluminum hydride promote the stereoselective catalytic chain growth of butadiene on aluminum in the presence of Nd(versatate)3 , Cp*2 Nd(allyl), or Cp*2 Gd(allyl) precatalysts and [PhNMe2 H+ ]/[B(C6 F5 )4 - ]. Carbazolyl- and indolylaluminum reagents result in efficient molecular weight control and chain initiation by the aminoalkyl rather than the isobutyl substituent bound to aluminum. As confirmed for (3-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)propyl)-initiated polybutadiene (PBD), for example, by deuterium quenching studies, polymer chain transfer by β-hydride transfer is negligible in comparison to back-transfer to aluminum.

Polyethylene Aerogels with Combined Physical and Chemical Crosslinking: Improved Mechanical Resilience and Shape-Memory Properties

While the introduction of polymers into aerogels strongly enhances their toughness, truly elastic monolithic aerogels which restore their dimensions upon extensive compression are still challenging to synthesize. In this context hydrophobic semi-crystalline polymers with low glass transition temperatures, and combined stiffness and flexibility, have only recently attracted attention. Shown here is that polyethylene aerogels with a low density, and combined chemical crosslinking and high crystallinity, display high moduli and excellent mechanical resilience. To maximize the crystallinity of these aerogels while maintaining a high crosslinking density, polyethylene networks with well-defined segments were synthesized by hydrosilylation crosslinking of telechelic, vinyl-functionalized oligomers obtained from catalyzed chain-growth polymerization. Recoverable deformations both above and below the melting temperature of polyethylene affords remarkable shape-memory properties.

Controlled Radical Polymerization of Ethylene Using Organotellurium Compounds

The first successfully controlled radical polymerization (CRP) of ethylene is reported using several organotellurium chain-transfer agents (CTAs) under mild conditions (70 °C, 200 bar of ethylene) within the concept of organotellurium-mediated radical polymerization (TERP). In contrast to preceding works on CRPs of ethylene applying reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT), the TERP system provided a high livingness and chain-end functionalization of polyethylene chains. Molar-mass distributions with dispersities between 1.3 and 2.1 were obtained up to average molar masses of 5000 g mol^-1 . As in the RAFT system, the high reactivity of the growing polyethylenyl radical led to an inherent side reaction. For the presented TERP systems, however, this side reaction did not result in dead chains, while it could even be effectively suppressed by a good choice of the CTA.

Divinyl-end-functionalized polyethylenes: ready access to a range of telechelic polyethylenes through thiol-ene reactions

Telechelic α,ω-iodo-vinyl-polyethylenes (Vin-PE-I) were obtained by catalytic ethylene polymerization in the presence of [(C5 Me5 )2 NdCl2 Li(OEt2 )2 ] in combination with a functionalized chain-transfer agent, namely, di(10-undecenyl)magnesium, followed by treatment of the resulting di(vinylpolyethylenyl)magnesium compounds ((vinyl-PE)2 Mg) with I2 . The iodo-functionalized vinylpolyethylenes (Vin-PE-I) were transformed into unique divinyl-functionalized polyethylenes (Vin-PE-Vin) by simple treatment with tBuOK in toluene at 95 °C. Thiol-ene reactions were then successfully performed on Vin-PE-Vin with functionalized thiols in the presence of AIBN. A range of homobifunctional telechelic polyethylenes were obtained on which a hydroxy, diol, carboxylic acid, amine, ammonium chloride, trimethoxysilyl, chloro, or fluoroalkyl group was installed quantitatively at each chain end.