Selective Functionalization of Poly(4-methylstyrene)

Polymer up-cycling by mangana-electrocatalytic C(sp3)-H azidation without directing groups

The chemical up-cycling of polymers into value-added materials offers a unique opportunity to place plastic waste in a new value chain towards a circular economy. Herein, we report the selective up-cycling of polystyrenes and polyolefins to C(sp3)-H azidated materials under electrocatalytic conditions. The functionalized polymers were obtained with high retention of mass average molecular mass and high functionalization through chemo-selective mangana-electrocatalysis. Our strategy proved to be broadly applicable to a variety of homo- and copolymers. Polyethylene, polypropylene as well as post-consumer polystyrene materials were functionalized by this approach, thereby avoiding the use of hypervalent-iodine reagents in stoichiometric quantities by means of electrocatalysis. This study, hence, represents a chemical oxidant-free polymer functionalization by electro-oxidation. The electrocatalysis proved to be scalable, which highlights its unique feature for a green hydrogen economy by means of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER).

Organolanthanide-Catalyzed Synthesis of Phosphine-Terminated Polyethylenes. Scope and Mechanism

Primary and secondary phosphines are investigated as chain-transfer agents for organolanthanide-mediated olefin polymerization. Ethylene polymerizations were carried out with [Cp'(2)LnH](2) and Cp'(2)LnCH(SiMe(3))(2) (Cp' = eta(5)-Me(5)C(5); Ln = La, Sm, Y, Lu) precatalysts in the presence of dicyclohexyl-, diisobutyl-, diethyl-, diphenyl-, cyclohexyl-, and phenylphosphine. In the presence of secondary phosphines, high polymerization activities (up to 10(7) g of polymer/(mol of Ln.atm ethylene.h)) and narrow product polymer polydispersities are observed. For lanthanocene-mediated ethylene polymerizations, the phosphine chain-transfer efficiency correlates with the rate of Ln-CH(SiMe(3))(2) protonolysis by the same phosphines and follows the trend H(2)PPh >> H(2)PCy > HPPh(2) > HPEt(2) approximately HP(i)()Bu(2) > HPCy(2). Under the conditions investigated, dicyclohexylphosphine is not an efficient chain-transfer agent for Cp'(2)LaPCy(2)- and Cp'(2)YPCy(2)-mediated ethylene polymerizations. Diisobutylphosphine and diethylphosphine are efficient chain-transfer agents for Cp'(2)La-mediated polymerizations; however, phosphine chain transfer does not appear to be competitive with other chain-transfer pathways in Cp'(2)Y-mediated polymerizations involving diisobutylphosphine. Regardless of the lanthanide metal, diphenylphosphine is an efficient chain-transfer agent for ethylene polymerization. Polymerizations conducted in the presence of primary phosphines produce only low-molecular-weight products. Thus, Cp'(2)Y-mediated ethylene polymerizations conducted in the presence of phenylphosphine and cyclohexylphosphine produce low-molecular-weight phenylphosphine- and cyclohexylphosphine-capped oligomers, respectively. For Cp'(2)YPPh(2)-mediated ethylene polymerizations, a linear relationship is observed between M(n) and [diphenylphosphine](-)(1), consistent with a phosphine protonolytic chain-transfer mechanism.

Organolanthanide-Catalyzed Synthesis of Phosphine-Terminated Polyethylenes

Organolanthanide-mediated hydrophosphination and ethylene polymerization are coupled in a catalytic cycle to produce diphenylphosphine-terminated polyethylenes. The resulting polymers were characterized by 1H, 13C, and 31P NMR, GPC, and DSC and compared spectroscopically to the model compound, 1-eicosyldiphenylphosphine oxide. High activities (107 g polymer/(mol Ln.atm ethylene.h)) and narrow polydispersities were observed in the polymerization/chain transfer process. Polyethylene molecular weights were found to be inversely proportional to diphenylphosphine concentration, supporting a chain transfer mechanism. The present discovery represents the first case in which an electron-rich phosphine functions efficiently as a chain transfer agent in a single-site fn/d0-mediated olefin polymerization process.

Polymeric supports for solid phase synthesis

The nature of the polymer support plays an integral role in solid phase organic synthesis. Combinatorial and highly parallel synthetic strategies have stimulated the development of new polymer support materials with compositions and properties that allow a broader spectrum of organic transformations. Extension of solid phase organic synthesis to encoded microreactors provides an efficient methodology for preparing large numbers of discrete compounds.