Capability of PN3-type Cobalt Complexes toward Selective (Co-)Polymerization of Myrcene, Butadiene, and Isoprene: Access to Biosourced Polymers

Catalytic Behavior of Cobalt Complexes Bearing Pyridine-Oxime Ligands in Isoprene Polymerization

Several cobalt(II) complexes Co1-Co3 bearing pyridine-oxime ligands (L1 = pyridine-2-aldoxime for Co1; L2 = 6-methylpyridine-2-aldoxime for Co2; L3 = phenyl-2-pyridylketoxime for Co3) and picolinaldehyde O-methyl oxime (L4)-supported Co4 were synthesized and well characterized by FT-IR, mass spectrum and elemental analysis. The single-crystal X-ray diffraction of complex Co2 reveals that the cobalt center of CoCl2 is coordinated with two 6-methylpyridine-2-aldoxime ligands binding with Npyridine and Noxime atoms, which feature a distorted octahedral structure. These Co complexes Co1-Co4 displayed extremely high activity toward isoprene polymerization upon activation with small amount of AlClEt2 in toluene, giving polyisoprene with high activity up to 16.3 × 105 (mol of Co)-1(h)-1. And, the generated polyisoprene displayed high molecular weights and narrow molecular distribution with a cis-1,4-enriched selectivity. The type of cobalt complexes, cocatalyst and reaction temperature all have effects on the polymerization activity but not on the microstructure of polymer.

Ultrahigh activity and broad temperature resistance of amine-imine cobalt precatalysts for butadiene polymerization

A series of amine-imine cobalt complexes (Co1-Co7) has been prepared and characterized. The complexes Co3, Co4, and Co6 have a distorted tetrahedral geometry, as determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction. In the presence of ethylaluminum sesquichloride (EASC), Co3 exhibited ultra-high activity toward butadiene (Bd) polymerization (up to 7813 kgpolymer mol-1 h-1). The activity is higher than any yet recorded for which yield high cis-1,4 polybutadiene by the well-defined late-transition metal catalytic system. The catalyst also exhibited excellent tolerance towards the ratio of Co/Bd and broad temperature stability. At a ratio of Bd/Co3 = 50 000, the complexes Co1-3 can afford polybutadiene with yields higher than 96% within 2 hours. At -20 °C to 100 °C, the complex Co3 afforded relatively high polymer yields at low catalyst concentrations (Bd/Co3 = 25 000). In addition, all polymers showed a relatively high molecular weight (up to 1.06 × 106 g mol-1).

Polymerization of Myrcene in Both Conventional and Renewable Solvents: Postpolymerization Modification via Regioselective Photoinduced Thiol-Ene Chemistry for Use as Carbon Renewable Dispersants

Polymeric dispersants are useful materials used in many different industries and often derived from oil-based chemicals, for example, in automotive fluids so as to prevent particulates from precipitation and causing potential damage. These are very often polyisobutene derivatives, and there is a growing need to replace these using chemicals using renewable resources such as the use of naturally occurring myrcene. Polymyrcene (PMy), with an ordered microstructure, has been successfully synthesized via both anionic and radical polymerization in different solvents and subsequently subjected to functionalization via photoinduced thiol-ene click reactions with a number of thiols, methyl thioglycolate, 3-mercaptopropionic acid, 3-mercapto-1-hexanol, 2-mercaptoethanol, and 1-thioglycerol, using 2,2-dimethoxy-2-phenylacetophenone as a photoinitiator under UV irradiation (λ = 365 nm) at ambient temperature. The polarity of the solvent has an important impact on the microstructure of the produced polymyrcene and, in particular, 1,2-unit (∼4%), 3,4-unit (∼41%), and 1,4-unit (∼51%) PMy were obtained via anionic polymerization in a polar solvent (THF) at ambient temperature, while 3,4-unit (∼6%) and 1,4-unit (∼94%, including cis and trans) PMy were obtained with cyclohexane as the solvent. Subsequently, photochemical thiol-ene reactions were carried out on the resulting PMy with different isomers exhibiting different reactivities of the double bonds. This strategy allows for the introduction of functional/polar groups (-COOH, -OH) into hydrophobic PMy in a controlled process. Hydrogenation of PMy and derivatized PMy was carried out to investigate any effects on the stabilities of the products which are desirable for many applications.

Stereoregular Polymerization of Acyclic Terpenes

The growing environmental pollution and the expected depleting of fossil resources have sparked interest in recent years for polymers obtained from monomers originating from renewable sources. Furthermore, nature can provide a variety of building blocks with special structural features (e. g. side groups or stereo-elements) that cannot be obtained so easily via fossil-based pathways. In this context, terpenes are widespread natural compounds coming from non-food crops, present in a large variety of structures, and ready to use as monomers with or without further modifications. The present review aims to provide an overview of how chemists can stereospecifically polymerize terpenes, particularly the acyclic ones like myrcene, ocimene, and farnesene, using different metal catalyst systems in coordination-insertion polymerization. Attention is also paid to their copolymers, which have recently been disclosed, and to the possible applications of these bio-based materials in various industrial sectors such as in the field of elastomers. © 2021 The Authors. ChemPlusChem published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.

Sustainable Myrcene-Based Elastomers via a Convenient Anionic Polymerization

Soluble heterocomplexes consisting of sodium hydride in combination with trialkylaluminum derivatives have been used as anionic initiating systems at 100 °C in toluene for convenient homo-, co- and ter-polymerization of myrcene with styrene and isoprene. In this way it has been possible to obtain elastomeric materials in a wide range of compositions with interesting thermal profiles and different polymeric architectures by simply modulating the alimentation feed and the (monomers)/(initiator systems) ratio. Especially, a complete study of the myrcene-styrene copolymers (PMS) was carried out, highlighting their tapered microstructures with high molecular weights (up to 159.8 KDa) and a single glass transition temperature. For PMS copolymer reactivity ratios, rmyr = 0.12 ± 0.003 and rsty = 3.18 ± 0.65 and rmyr = 0.10 ± 0.004 and rsty = 3.32 ± 0.68 were determined according to the Kelen-Tudos (KT) and extended Kelen-Tudos (exKT) methods, respectively. Finally, this study showed an easy accessible approach for the production of various elastomers by anionic copolymerization of renewable terpenes, such as myrcene, with commodities.

Reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer polymerization of myrcene derivatives: an efficient access to fully bio-sourced functional elastomers with recyclable, shape memory and self-healing properties

The rubber industry has been faced with critical challenges including unsustainable fossil-based monomer sources, lack of functionality and growing environmental concerns of waste vulcanizates.

Cobalt catalysed controlled copolymerization: an efficient approach to bifunctional polyisoprene with enhanced properties

Bifunctional polyisoprene with controlled molecular weight was obtained by coordination insertion polymerization.

NEW ELASTOMERIC MATERIALS FROM BIOMASS: STEREOSELECTIVE POLYMERIZATION OF LINEAR TERPENES AND THEIR COPOLYMERIZATION WITH BUTADIENE BY USING A COBALT COMPLEX WITH PHOSPHANE LIGANDS

The polymerization of bio-renewable terpenes such as β-ocimene (O), β-myrcene (M), and β-farnesene (F) promoted by CoCl2(PCyPh2)2 (1) in combination with modified methylalumoxane at room temperature is reported. Stereoregular polymers of O, M, and F were obtained. 1 also promoted, showing good stereoselectivity, the copolymerization of O and M with butadiene (B) in a wide range of compositions by suitably varying the alimentation feed: up to 67 and 75 mol% of O and M incorporated for poly(ocimene-butadiene) and poly(myrcene-butadiene) copolymers, respectively. These new materials with elastomeric properties (glass transition temperatures observed in the range of −5.7 to −72.5 °C) were fully characterized by differential scanning calorimetry, size exclusion chromatography, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H, 13C, and two-dimensional experiments).

Introducing random bio-terpene segments to high cis-polybutadiene: making elastomeric materials more sustainable

In this work, we explore the statistical copolymerization of 1,3-butadiene with the terpenic monomers myrcene and farnesene, carried out via coordination polymerization using a neodymium-based ternary catalytic system. The resultant copolymers, poly(butadiene-co-myrcene) and poly(butadiene-co-farnesene), were synthesized at different monomer ratios, elucidating the influence of the bio-based monomer content over the kinetic variables, molecular and thermal properties, and the reactivity constants (Fineman-Ross and Kelen-Tüdös methods) of the resultant copolymers. The results indicate that through the herein employed conditions, it is possible to obtain "more sustainable" high-cis (≈95%) polybutadiene elastomers with random and tunable content of bio-based monomer. Moreover, the polymers exhibit fairly high molecular weights and a rather low dispersity index. Upon copolymerization, the T g of high-cis PB can be shifted from -106 to -75 °C (farnesene) or -107 to -64 °C (myrcene), without altering the microstructure control. This work contributes to the development of more environmentally friendly elastomers, to form "green" rubber materials.

Terpene Based Elastomers: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications

The limited source of fossil-fuel and the predominance of petroleum-based chemistry in the manufacturing of commodity polymers has generated tremendous interest in replacing the fossil source-based polymers with renewable counterparts. The field of sustainable elastomers has grown in the past three decades, from a few examples to a plethora of reports in modern polymer science and technology. Applications of elastomers are huge and vital for everyday living. The present review aims to portray a birds-eye view of various sustainable elastomers obtained from the wide family of acyclic terpenes (renewable feedstocks from different plant oils) via various polymerization techniques and their properties, as well as plausible developments in the future applications of sustainable polymers. Not only the homopolymers, but also their copolymers with both green and commercial fossil based comonomers, are reviewed.

Synthesis and properties investigation of hydroxyl functionalized polyisoprene prepared by cobalt catalyzed co-polymerization of isoprene and hydroxylmyrcene

Controlled copolymerization of isoprene and hydroxylmyrcene afforded well-defined hydroxyl functionalized polyisoprene. Blends of functionalized polyisoprene/SiO₂ displayed enhanced miscibility, and remarkable vulcanization and mechanical properties.

Tales of the unexpected. The non-random statistical copolymerisation of myrcene and styrene in the presence of a polar modifier

Terpene monomers such as myrcene are considered sustainable replacements for oil-based dienes in the production of sSBR. We present unexpected data for the anionic copolymerisation of myrcene and styrene in the presence of TMEDA, a polar modifier.

Lutetium and yttrium complexes supported by an anilido-oxazoline ligand for polymerization of 1,3-conjugated dienes and ε-caprolactone

Lutetium and yttrium complexes supported by an anilido-oxazoline ligand exhibit highcis-1,4 stereoselectivity for 1,3-conjugated diene polymerization and high activity for ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone.