A Greener Approach for Synthesis of Functionalized Polyolefins by Introducing Reactive Functionality into Ethylene Copolymers

Abstract

Recent successful examples for synthesis of new polyolefins containing (polar) functionalities by adopting the approaches by controlled incorporation of reactive functionalities (and the subsequent introduction of polar functionalities under mild conditions) by coordination polymerization in the presence of transition metal complex catalysts have been described. Related methods (such as direct copolymerization of olefin with polar monomer using living radical or coordination insertion methods) have also been demonstrated for comparison. Our recent efforts for precise synthesis of polyolefins containing polar functionalities by efficient incorporation of reactive functionality by copolymerization of ethylene with nonconjugateddiene (1,7-octadiene, vinylcyclohexene etc.) or divinyl-biphenyl using nonbridged half-titanocene [ex. Cp’TiCl 2 (O-2,6- i Pr 2 C 6 H 3 ), Cp’ = C 5 Me 5 , t BuC 5 H 4 etc.] catalysts have been introduced.