ADVANCES IN THE SYNTHESIS AND POLYMERIZATION OF METAL-CONTAINING MONOMERS

Abstract

Polymerization and copolymerization of metal-containing monomers (MCM) is a unique method of synthesizing metal-containing polymers wherein practically all functional groups are bound to the metal.     

Macromolecular synthesis using mesoporous zeolites

Mesoporous zeolites such as MCM‐41 were found to serve as nano‐flasks for free radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA), where the formation of long‐lived propagating radicals was observed. Al‐MCM‐41 with a Lewis‐acidic aluminosilicate framework catalyzed living ring‐opening polymerization of cyclic esters such as δ‐valerolactone and ϵ‐caprolactone, to give narrow molecular‐weight‐distribution polyesters. With Ti‐MCM‐41, a titanate‐containing mesoporous silica, ring‐opening polymerization of δ‐valerolactone also took place to give a high molecular‐weight polyester. On the other hand, with Ti‐MCM‐41 in the presence of methylaluminoxane (MAO), ethylene was polymerized to give a high molecular‐weight, linear polyethylene.     

Synthesis and reactivity of metal-containing monomers

The polymerization of diacrylates of the nontransition metals Mg, Zn, Ba, and Pb, which proceeds at low temperatures (5–10°C) with the complexes of alkylcobalts with tridentate Shiff bases (RCo) as initiators, was studied. The radical mechanism of the process was proved with the aid of free radical scavengers. The polymerization kinetics is given by the equationW _n = k [M] · [RCo]^0.75. The influence of the nature of the metal in the monomer and the alkyl ligand in the initiator on the polymerization process was discussed. Low temperatures promote the formation of polymers with high molecular weights and a predominantly syndiotactic structure. The effect of the steric hindrances arising during polymerization due to the formation of a three-dimensional cross-linked structure in the metal-containing polymer on the microstructure of polymer chain and on polymerization kinetics was considered.For part 24 seeBull. Acad. Sci., Div. Chem. Sci., 1992, 1609.For a preliminary communication see Ref.1.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 3, pp. 500–503, March, 1993.     

Preparation and reactivity of metal-containing monomers

Polymethacryloylacetonates of some transition metals were obtained by free-radical polymerization of the corresponding metal-containing monomers and the main regularities of the process were studied. The complexation with a metal ion decreased the reactivity of the methacryloylacetone towards polymerization in the series Mn^II > Co^II > Ni^II > Cr^III, which is analogous to the electronegativity of these metals. Macrochelates thus obtained contain one equivalent of metal per monomer unit and their molecular weights are within 10000–18200. The structure of the coordination site was shown to be retained in the course of polymerization.For communication 34, see Ref. 1.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 12, pp. 2060–2064, December, 1993.     

Metal-containing crosslinked polyester resins by combined polyesterification and polymerization of curable mixtures based on divalent metal salts of mono(hydroxyethyl)phthalate

Preparations of metal-containing crosslinked polyester resins based on divalent metal salts of mono(hydroxyethyl)phthalate were investigated by the cure, by combined polyesterification and polymerization, of curable mixtures prepared from above metal salts, maleic anhydride, glycidyl methacrylate, and methyl methacrylate. The curable mixtures containing Ca showed lower viscosity than those containing Mg. They were subjected to curing reactions in the presence of peroxide and under photoirradiation, respectively. In the cure, polyesterification and polymerization proceeded simultaneously smoothly, giving metal-containing cured resins. Generally, the peroxide-cured resins showed better physical properties than the photo-cured resins. Especially, the former resins with high metal content showed high compressive strength and Rockwell hardness. Further, resistance to chemical attack and boiling water and thermal behavior are also discussed.     

Synthesis of polymers by using divalent metal salts of mono(hydroxyethyl) phthalate: Metal-containing polyurethane-ureas

A series of metal-containing polyurethane-ureas containing ionic links in the main chain was synthesized by the polyaddition reaction of hexamethylene diisocyanate with mixtures of metal salts of mono(hydroxyethyl) phthalate and bisureas containing two hydroxyl groups which were obtained from monoethanolamine and diisocyanates. The polyurethane-ureas obtained were generally yellowish powders or solids. Close agreement between observed and calculated values of metal content of the metal-containing polyurethane-ureas was obtained. The viscosities (in dimethylformamide) of polyurethane-ureas decreased markedly with increase of metal content. Moreover, the decomposition temperatures were lowered a little by introducing metals into the polyurethane-ureas. Dimethylformamide, m-cresol, and dimethyl sulfoxide were comparatively good solvents for the metal-containing polyurethane-ureas; however, the polymers were insoluble in all other solvents.     

Template effects in chelating polymers

Poly(4′-methyl-4-vinyl-2,2′-bipyridine) has been prepared as have various copolymers with divinylbenzene. When polymerization is carried out in the presence of metal ions (Ni²⁺, Co²⁺, Cu²⁺) a metal-containing copolymer is obtained which, when the metal ion is removed with acid, retains some memory of the original chelating metal.     

Synthesis of polymers by use of divalent metal salts of monohydroxyethyl phthalate: Metal-containing isocyanurate-type crosslinked polyurethanes

Divalent metal salts (I) of monohydroxyethyl phthalate have catalytic activity for polymerization of isocyanate groups. The synthesis of novel metal-containing isocyanurate-type crosslinked polyurethanes were investigated by the crosslinking reaction of I in DMF with diisocyanates or urethane prepolymers, that is, diisocyanate adducts of polyethylene glycol. 2,4-Toluene diisocyanate and diphenylmethane diisocyanate were used as diisocyanates, and DMF was the solvent. The crosslinking reactions were followed by determining the gelation time. Gelation time decreased with increasing temperature. The Ca salt was more effective than the Mg salt in the crosslinking reaction. The yields of resulting metal-containing three-dimensional polymers decreased with increasing metal content in the feed. The Ca salt was more easily introduced into the network polymers than the Mg salt was. Decomposition temperatures decreased on introducing metals into the network polymers. Some physical properties of the metal-containing network polymers are also discussed.     

Macromolecule — Metal complexes based on salts of unsaturated mono- and dicarboxylic acids: Synthesis and characterization

The radical polymerization and copolymerization of salts of unsaturated carboxylic acids were used for the production of metal-containing polymers. The kinetic peculiarities and copolymerization parameters were estimated. The synthesis and structure of transition metal acrylates, maleates, fumarates, and itaconates are discussed. The influence of the metal atom on salt reactivities and reaction rates is observed.     

Recent progress and future challenges in the supramolecular polymerization of metal-containing monomers

The self-assembly of discrete molecular entities into functional nanomaterials has become a major research area in the past decades. The library of investigated compounds has diversified significantly, while the field as a whole has matured. The incorporation of metal ions in the molecular design of the (supra-)molecular building blocks greatly expands the potential applications, while also offering a promising approach to control molecular recognition and attractive and/or repulsive intermolecular binding events. Hence, supramolecular polymerization of metal-containing monomers has emerged as a major research focus in the field. In this perspective article, we highlight recent significant advances in supramolecular polymerization of metal-containing monomers and discuss their implications for future research. Additionally, we also outline some major challenges that metallosupramolecular chemists (will) have to face to produce metallosupramolecular polymers (MSPs) with advanced applications and functionalities.

In this perspective article, we highlight recent significant advances in the self-assembly of metal-containing monomers and discuss their implications for future research.     

Influences of methylaluminoxane separated by porous inorganic materials on the isospecific polymerization of propylene

Inorganic siliceous porous materials such as MFI type zeolite, mesoporous silica MCM‐41 and silica gel with different average pore diameters were applied to the adsorptive separation of methylaluminoxane (MAO) used as a cocatalyst in α‐olefin polymerizations. The separated MAOs combined with rac‐ethylene‐(bisindenyl)zirconium dichloride (rac‐Et(Ind)₂ZrCl₂) were introduced to propylene polymerization, and their influences on the polymerization activity and stereoregularity of the resulting polymers were investigated. The polymerization activity and isotactic [mmmm] pentad of the produced propylene were markedly dependent upon the pore size of the porous material used for adsorptive separation. From the results obtained from solvent extraction of the produced polymers, it was suggested that there are at least two kinds of active species with different stereospecificity in the rac‐Et(Ind)₂ZrCl₂/MAO catalyst system.     

Refractory Metal-Containing Polymers and Nanocomposites: Preparation and Properties

Summary: Novel polymers containing refractory metal in the main chain or side chains can be prepared. An attractive approach is polymerization of the Hf (Ta, Nb)-monomers with (meth)acrylate, fumarate or monomethylmethacrylate ethyleneglycol groups, synthesized for the first time in this study. New types of hafnium (tantalum, niobium)-containing nanocomposites are prepared by combining polymer synthesis and controlled thermolysis. The composition and structure of the synthesized metal-containing precursors and thermolysis products are determined by elemental analysis, IR and ¹H-NMR spectroscopies, X-ray diffraction and TEM analysis.     

Polymers based on divalent metal salts of p-aminobenzoic acid: a review

Divalent metal salts of p-aminobenzoic acid are useful starting materials for syntheses of ionic polymers into which metal is firmly incorporated. This paper is a review of a series of polymers that have been prepared using the metal salts. The salts can react with compounds having functional groups capable of reacting with amino groups. By polyaddition reactions of the salt–aromatic diamine with diisocyanate, and with isocynate-terminated adducts of diisocyanate and dialkylene glycol, halatotelechelic polyureas and polyurethane-ureas are obtained. By amine–epoxy reactions of systems of the salt–diamine–bisepoxide, and addition reactions of systems of the salt–dicarboxylic acid anhydride–bisepoxide, metal-containing cured resins are obtained. In this case, the metal carboxylate groups of the salts have catalytic activities for the curing reactions, and also for etherification of epoxy groups as a side reaction. Therefore, crosslinking of bisepoxide with the salts, and with adducts of the salts and the anhydride, has been investigated by taking advantage of the catalytic activity of the metal carboxylate groups for the etherification of epoxy groups. Interestingly, the metal-containing cured resins obtained by crosslinking by etherification of bisepoxide with the adducts show very high impact strength. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Polymer composites of nano-sized particles isolated in matrix

The kinetic and mechanism of thermal decay of transition metal acrylates or its cocrystallites are studied. At 200–300°C the rate of thermal decay can be described by first-order rate equations. The thermal transformations of the metal-containing monomers under study involve dehydration, solid-phase polymerization and thermolysis processes. The composition of products of the thermal transformations are studied. The products of the decay are analyzed by optical and electron microscopy as well as by magnetic measurements, IR and mass spectroscopy. The main solid-state products of decomposition are nanometer-sized particles of metal or its oxide and ferrites with a narrow size distribution stabilized by the polymeric matrix. The average particle sizes, L_av, are 6.0–13.0 nm in the case of FeAcr₃ and 6.0 nm for cocrystallites FeCoAcr and Fe₂CoAcr. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis and Polymerization in Unsaturated Co β-Diketonates

Polymerization of some unsaturated -diketonates of cobalt containing double bonds both unconjugated and conjugated with a metal cycle. Unlike monomeric complexes, cobalt in metal-containing polymers was shown to have tetrahedral structure of the coordination polyhedron. The kinetic parameters of polymerization depend on electronic and steric properties of -diketonates.     

Reactivity of metal-containing monomers 70. Preparation and magnetic properties of metal-containing nanocomposites

Nanocomposites containing magnetically active nanoparticles stabilized by the carbon-containing matrix formed in parallel were obtained by the polymerization—destruction synthesis. The composition, structure, and magnetic properties of nanocomposites synthesized by the thermal decomposition of unsaturated metal carboxylates and transition metal (Co^II, Ni^II, Fe^III) acrylamide complexes were studied by powder X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The key macro stages and kinetic features of thermolysis of the metal-containing monomers were identified. The variation of the conditions of thermal transformations allows one to control the magnetic properties of nanocomposites from ferromagnetic to superparamagnetic behavior.

     

Metal-containing monomers. Part 1. Spatial and electronic structures of cobalt(II) and nickel(II) complexes with acrylamide and of their polymers

Summary The spatial and electronic structures of the complexes [Co(AAm)₄(H₂O)₂](NO₃)₂ (1), Co(AAm)₄Cl₂ (2), [Ni(AAm)₄(H₂O)₂](NO₃)₂ (3) and Ni(AAm)₄Cl₂ (4), where AAm is acrylamide, and the products of their radical, frontal and post-grafting polymerization have been studied by electronic spectroscopy. The complexes (1), (3) and (4) were found to have pseudooctahedral structures in both the solid and solution phases. A change in the spatial structure of complex (2) was established in going from the crystal (tetragonally distorted octahedral) to solution (tetrahedral). The coordination environment of the metal centre does not change markedly during polymerization of the metal-containing monomers.     

Mesoporous silica as nanoreactor for olefin polymerization

Various metal-containing MCM-41(Metal-MCM-41) were prepared by the post-synthesis method with organometallic compound or alkoxide and used as a nanoreactor for olefin polymerization. Strong Lewis acid sites generated on Metal-MCM-41 could activate the metallocene catalyst rac-ethylene(bisindenyl)zirconium dichloride (rac-Et(Ind)₂ZrCl₂) effectively, resulting in the formation of active sites for polymerizations of ethylene and propylene. This suggests that Metal-MCM-41 is useful as a heterogenized cocatalyst. Ti-, Zr-, Hf-, Mn- and Zn-MCM-41 combined with alkylaluminum (without metallocene catalyst) were also found to provide isotactic polypropylene with a broad molecular weight distribution. By analyzing the characteristics of polypropylenes both inside and outside the mesopores, the polymerization behavior under extreme confined geometry was discussed.     

Alkaline Earth Metal‐Mediated Highly Iso‐selective Ring‐Opening Polymerization of rac‐Lactide

Alkaline earth (Ae) metal complexes of the aminophosphine borane ligand are highly active and iso‐selective catalysts for the ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) of rac‐lactide (LA). The polymerization reactions are well controlled and produce polylactides with molecular weights that are precise and narrowly distributed. Kinetic studies reveal that the ROP of rac‐LA catalyzed by all Ae metal complexes had a first‐order dependency on LA concentration as well as catalyst concentration. A plausible reaction mechanism for Ae metal complex‐mediated ROP of rac‐LA is discussed, based on controlled kinetic experiments and molecular chain mobility.     

Multiply Bonded Dimolybdenum Cation Immobilized in Mesoporous Silica: XAFS Analysis and Catalytic Activity in Cyclopentadiene Polymerization

MCM‐41 derivatized with the cis‐[Mo₂(μ‐O₂CMe)₂(MeCN)₆]²⁺ cation has been characterized by means of XAFS spectroscopy and shown to be active as an initiator for the cationic polymerization of methylcyclopentadiene. The Mo‐Mo quadruple bond is not disrupted during the fixation on the surface.