Scandium‐Catalyzed Self‐Assisted Polar Co‐monomer Enchainment in Ethylene Polymerization

Terpolymerization of Ethylene and Two Different Methoxyaryl-Substituted Propylenes by Scandium Catalyst Makes Tough and Fast Self-Healing Elastomers

The terpolymerization of a non-polar olefin (such as ethylene) and two different polar functional olefins in a controlled fashion is of great interest and importance but has hardly been explored to date. We report for the first time the terpolymerization of ethylene (E) and two different methoxyaryl-substituted propylenes (A^R1 P=hexylanisyl propylene; A^R2 P=methoxynaphthyl propylene or methoxypyrenyl propylene) by a half-sandwich scandium catalyst. The terpolymerization took place in a sequence-controlled fashion, affording unique multi-block copolymers composed of two different ethylene-alt-methoxyarylpropylene sequences E-alt-A^R1 P (soft segments) and E-alt-A^R2 P (hard segments) and relatively short ethylene-ethylene (EE) blocks (crystalline segments). The terpolymers exhibited excellent elasticity and unprecedented self-healing as a result of microphase separation of nanodomains of the crystalline EE segments and the hard amorphous E-alt-A^R2 P segments from a very flexible E-alt-A^R1 P matrix, demonstrating unique synergy of the three different components.

Unprecedentedly High Activity and/or High Regio-/Stereoselectivity of Fluorenyl-Based CGC Allyl-Type η3:η1-tert-Butyl(dimethylfluorenylsilyl)amido Ligated Rare Earth Metal Monoalkyl Complexes in Olefin Polymerization

A series of fluorenyl-based constrained-geometry-configuration (CGC) allyl-type rare earth metal monoalkyl complexes bearing the divalent anionic η3:η1-tert-butyl(dimethylfluorenylsilyl)amido (η3:η1-FluSiMe2NtBu) ligand (η3:η1-FluSiMe2NtBu)Ln(CH2SiMe3)(THF)2 (1-3) have been synthesized via the alkane elimination reaction between the FluHSiMe2NHtBu ligand and rare earth metal tri(trimethylsilylmethyl) complexes Ln(CH2SiMe3)3(THF)n. Their structures are characterized by means of NMR spectrum, elemental analyses, and X-ray diffraction. These complexes 1-3 are isostructural and isomorphous, and each of them adopts a distorted-trigonal-bipyramidal configuration containing one η3:η1-FluSiMe2NtBu ligand, one CH2SiMe3 ligand, and two THF molecules. Unlike traditional CGC allyl-type rare earth metal complexes showing no or low activity and regio-/stereoselectivity in styrene or MMA polymerization, these complexes 1-3 exhibit high catalytic activities and/or high regio-/stereoselectivities in the cis-1,4-polymerization of isoprene and myrcene or in the syndiotactic polymerization of styrene under the aid of different activators (borate or borane) and AlR3. The in situ 1H NMR spectra suggest that the exchanges of chelating ligands such as alkyl groups and divalent anionic η3:η1-FluSiMe2NtBu ligands between rare earth metal centers and Al centers result in the formation of a heterobimetallic tetraalkylaluminate complex R2Al(μ-R)2Ln(R)(μ-R)2AlR2, which is activated by activators to form a divalent cationic species [Ln(μ-R)2AlR2]2+ as a catalytically active species in the coordination-insertion polymerization of olefins.

Emerging Palladium and Nickel Catalysts for Copolymerization of Olefins with Polar Monomers

Transition-metal-catalyzed copolymerization of olefins with polar monomers represents a challenge because of the large variety of substrate-induced side reactions. However, this approach also holds the potential for the direct synthesis of polar functionalized polyolefins with unique properties. After decades of research, only a few catalyst systems have been found to be suitable for this reaction. Some major advances in catalyst development have been made in the past five years. This Minireview summarizes some of the recent progress in the extensively studied Brookhart and Drent catalyst systems, as well as emerging alternative palladium and nickel catalysts.