Synthesis of crystallizable sydiotactic-atactic stereoblock polypropylene using a living polymerization system

Propylene polymerizations were conducted by [t-BuNSiMe₂(3,6-t-Bu₂Flu)]TiMe₂ using dried modified methyaluminoxane as a cocatalyst in heptane, chlorobenzene (CB), and a mixture of heptane/CB (1:1 in volume) at 0°C. Postpolymerizations testified that the propylene polymerization proceeded in a living manner regardless of the solvent used. The heptane system gave highly syndiotactic crystalline polypropylene (PP), whereas the CB and heptane/CB mixture systems gave amorphous PP. After the first polymerization in heptane had been completed, the same amounts of propylene and CB were added for the second polymerization. This procedure gave the syndiotactic-atactic stereoblock PP with a melting point of 119°C. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Microstructure of Highly Syndiotactic “Living” Poly(propylene)s Produced from a Titanium Complex with Chelating Fluorine‐Containing Phenoxyimine Ligands (an FI Catalyst)

Highly syndiotactic “living” poly(propylene)s were synthesized at 25°C using a bis[N‐(3‐tert‐butylsalicylidene)‐2,3,4,5,6‐pentafluoroanilinato]titanium (IV) dichloride/MAO catalyst system, and microstructures of the polymer were analyzed by means of ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. The syndiotactic poly(propylene) contains isobutyl, isopentyl and propyl end groups, suggesting that the living polymerization of propylene was initiated via 1,2‐insertion, followed by 2,1‐insertion as the principal mode of polymerization. Pentad distribution analysis revealed that the syndiospecific polymerization proceeds under chain‐end control.     

Stereospecific polymerization with metallocenes: Macromolecular design via catalysis

Forty years after Natta's discoveries of stereospecific olefin polymerization with Ziegler catalysts, new catalysts are causing a renaissance in stereospecific olefin polymerization. Metallocene Ziegler-Natta catalysts are unprecedented in their ability to polymerize α-olefins to a variety of polymer microstructures.¹ Isotactic, syndiotactic, atactic and stereoblock poly(α-olefins) have been produced using catalysts derived from group 4 metallocene catalyst precursors.     

Living Polymerization of Propene with a Chelating Diamide Complex of Titanium Using Dried Methylaluminoxane

The living polymerization of propene was conducted at 0°C using a chelating diamide complex of titanium combined with dried modified methylaluminoxane from which free trialkylaluminium compounds were removed as much as possible before use. The number‐average molecular weight of the statistically atactic poly(propylene) produced increased almost linearly with increasing polymerization time accompanied by a narrowing of the molecular weight distribution from 1.34 to 1.16.     

Propylene Polymerization with Bis(phenoxy‐imine) Group‐4 Catalysts Using iBu3Al/Ph3CB(C6F5)4 as a Cocatalyst

The catalytic behavior of three bis(phenoxy‐imine) group‐4 transition‐metal complexes (M = Ti, Zr, Hf), with ⁱBu₃Al/Ph₃CB(C₆F₅)₄ cocatalyst systems towards propylene polymerization was investigated under atmospheric pressure at 25 °C. The Ti complex produced ultrahigh‐molecular‐weight atactic poly(propylene), whereas Zr and Hf complexes formed high‐molecular‐weight isotactic poly(propylene)s via a site‐control mechanism. The isotactic poly(propylene) obtained with the Hf complex displayed a high melting temperature of 123.8 °C.

     

Group 4 Metallocene Catalysts with Hapto‐Flexible Cyclopentadienyl‐Aryl Ligand

Catalytic precursors Ti(IV) and Zr(IV) complexes bearing cyclopentadienyl and substituted cyclopentadienyl anionic ligands, bonded to phenyl or substituted phenyl through an isopropylidene bridge have been utilized in the polymerization of propene and styrene and in ethylene‐styrene copolymerization. In the presence of trichloro[(1,2,3,4,5‐η)‐1‐(1‐methyl‐1‐phenylethyl)‐2,4‐cyclopentadien‐1‐yl]titanium (LTiCl₃) we have obtained either partially isotactic (chain‐end type) or atactic poly‐(propylene), and either atactic or syndiotactic polystyrene depending on the reaction temperature. [1‐Methyl‐1‐naphthylethyl‐2‐inden‐1‐yl]titanium(IV) behaves like (LTiCl₃) in styrene polymerization, while it affords metal‐controlled partially isotactic poly(propylene), as well as the corresponding zirconium compounds. The experimental data are tentatively explained by the temperature dependence of coordination of the bridged aryl group of the ligand.     

Hydrogen‐bond‐assisted stereocontrol in the radical polymerization of N‐isopropylacrylamide with secondary alkyl phosphate: The effect of the bulkiness of the ester group

The radical polymerization of N‐isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) in toluene at low temperatures was investigated in the presence of triisopropyl phosphate (TiPP). The addition of TiPP induced a syndiotactic specificity that was enhanced by the polymerization temperature being lowered, whereas atactic polymers were obtained in the absence of TiPP, regardless of the temperature. Syndiotactic‐rich poly(NIPAAm) with a racemo dyad content of 65% was obtained at ?60 °C with a fourfold amount of TiPP, but almost atactic poly(NIPAAm)s were obtained by the temperature being lowered to ?80 °C. This result contrasted with the result in the presence of primary alkyl phosphates, such as tri‐n‐propyl phosphate: the stereospecificity varied from syndiotactic to isotactic as the polymerization temperature was lowered. NMR analysis at ?80 °C revealed that TiPP predominantly formed a 1:1 complex with NIPAAm, although primary alkyl phosphates preferentially formed a 1:2 complex with NIPAAm. Thus, it was concluded that a slight increase in the bulkiness of the added phosphates influenced the stoichiometry of the NIPAAm–phosphate complex at lower temperatures, and consequently a drastic change in the effect on the stereospecificity of NIPAAm polymerization was observed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 3899–3908, 2005     

Molecular Weight and Long Chain Branch Distributions of Branch‐Block Olefinic Thermoplastic Elastomers

Olefinic thermoplastic elastomers can be prepared by incorporating semi‐crystalline macromonomers (e.g. isotactic or syndiotactic poly(propylene), high‐density polyethylene) onto amorphous backbones (e.g. atactic poly(propylene), ethylene/α‐olefin copolymers). The macromonomer incorporation reaction can be carried out in semi‐batch reactors by adding previously synthesized macromonomers to the reactor (ex situ approach), or by generating and incorporating the macromonomers in a single step (in situ approach). The differences in the microstructure of copolymers synthesized by in situ and ex situ techniques are explored herein through a mathematical model that can predict the concentration of linear and branched chains, their average molecular weights, polydispersity indices, and molecular weight distributions. In both cases linear chains predominate, but the ex situ approach produces a larger amount of branched chains with thermoplastic elastomer properties. Furthermore, for the in situ strategy, a significant amount of branched chains is only formed after the macromonomer concentration reaches a critical value.

Schematic representation of the polymerization mechanism.     

Synthesis of octahedral zirconium complex bearing [NHC?O] ligands,and its behavior as catalyst in the polymerization of olefins

The synthesis and characterization of a zirconium complex, having two alkoxide functionalized N‐heterocyclic carbene ligands, and its behavior as catalyst in the polymerization of ethylene and propylene, have been reported. NMR analysis showed that more than one species was obtained during synthesis. These data were confirmed by ethylene polymerization that gave rise to a linear polyethylene having a high Molecular weight and a polydispersity index (MDI) > 2 and often bimodal. The same catalytic system was able to produce highly isotactic polypropylene together with an atactic fraction. DFT studies on the complex stereoisomer stability gave indications on the species possibly involved in the polymerizations. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Synthesis of Isotactic–Heterotactic Stereoblock (Hard–Soft) Poly(lactide) with Tacticity Control through Immortal Coordination Polymerization

A one‐pot method for the preparation of a new family of PLA materials is reported that combines heterotactic (soft) and isotactic stereoblocks (hard). The ring‐opening polymerization of rac‐lactide with a salan–rare‐earth‐metal–alkyl complex in the presence of excess triethanolamine was performed in an immortal mode to give three‐armed heterotactic poly(lactide) (soft) with excellent end‐hydroxy fidelity. The in situ addition of a salen–aluminum–alkyl precursor to the above polymerization system under any monomer‐conversion conditions activated the “dormant” hydroxy‐ended PLA chains to propagate through the incorporation of the remaining rac‐lactide monomer, but with isospecific selectivity (hard). The resultant PLA had a three‐armed architecture with controlled molecular weight and extremely narrow molecular‐weight distribution (PDI<1.08). More strikingly, each side‐arm simultaneously possessed highly heterotactic (soft) and highly isotactic (hard) segments and the ratio of these two stereoregular sequences could be swiftly adjusted by tuning the addition time of the salen–aluminum–alkyl precursor to the polymerization system. Therefore, star‐shaped hard–soft stereoblock poly(lactide)s with various P_m values and crystallinity were achieved in a single reactor for the first time. This strategy should be applicable to the synthesis of a series of new types of stereoblock polyesters by using an immortal‐polymerization process and a proper choice of specific, selective metal‐based catalysts.     

Synthesis and thermal,mechanical, and optical properties of A–B–A or A–B block copolymers containing poly(norbornene‐co‐1‐octene)

A–B–A block copolymers which consist of poly(norbornene‐co‐1‐octene) and atactic polypropylene (PP) segments were synthesized by using ansa‐fluorenylamidotitanium complex as a catalyst varying the ratio of norbornene, 1‐octene, and propylene. The copolymer was obtained quantitatively with high molecular weight (>100,000) and narrow molecular weight distribution (polydispersity index, <1.5). A–B block copolymers of poly(norbornene‐co‐1‐octene) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) was also obtained by the same procedure. Mechanical and optical properties of these copolymer films, which were obtained by solution casting process, were also investigated. Introduction of PP soft segment greatly improved mechanical properties, keeping their high transparency. Introduction of PMMA block also increased the tensile strength. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 267–271     

Lipase‐Catalyzed Transformation of Unnatural‐Type Poly(3‐hydroxybutanoate) into Reactive Cyclic Oligomer

Unnatural‐type syndiotactic and atactic poly[(R,S)‐3‐hydroxybutanoate]s [P(3HB)s] were enzymatically transformed into a reactive cyclic 3HB oligomer of molecular weight ca. 500 in an organic solvent, such as toluene, using immobilized lipase from Candida antarctica at 40°C for 24 h. It was confirmed that similar results were obtained for both syndiotactic and atactic P(3HB)s. On the other hand, the acidic degradation of these polymers using a protonic acid, such as p‐toluenesulfonic acid, exclusively produced the linear 3HB oligomer instead of the cyclic oligomer. The formation of the cyclic oligomer was regarded as the characteristic feature of the lipase‐catalyzed degradation in organic media. The cyclic oligomer obtained readily reacted with alcohol as a nucleophile, and using lipase, to produce the alkyl ester of the 3HB oligomer.     

Preparation of syndiotactic poly(4‐tert‐butyldimethyl‐silyloxystyrene) and poly(4‐hydroxystyrene)

Syndiospecific silyloxy‐functionalized polystyrene with high molecular weight was prepared using a (pentamethylcyclopentadienyl)titanatrane/MMAO catalyst system. The resulting polymer is soluble in polar organic solvents such as THF and shows good thermal stability. In addition, the compound Ni(acac)₂ was used as a catalyst in preparing authentic atactic polymer of 4‐tert‐butyldimethylsilyloxystyrene under the same conditions. The chemical transformation of syndiospecific poly(4‐tert‐butyldimethylsilyloxystyrene) also gave a new polar polymer, namely syndiotactic poly(4‐hydroxystyrene) which is unattainable by traditional synthetic methods.     

Simultaneous control of the stereospecificity and molecular weight in the ruthenium‐catalyzed living radical polymerization of methyl and 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylates and sequential synthesis of stereoblock polymers

The stereospecific living radical polymerizations of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) were achieved with a combination of ruthenium‐catalyzed living radical and solvent‐mediated stereospecific radical polymerizations. Among a series of ruthenium complexes [RuCl₂(PPh₃)₃, Ru(Ind)Cl(PPh₃)₂, and RuCp*Cl(PPh₃)₂], Cp*–ruthenium afforded poly(methyl methacrylate) with highly controlled molecular weights [weight‐average molecular weight/number‐average molecular weight (M_w/M_n) = 1.08] and high syndiotacticity (r = 88%) in a fluoroalcohol such as (CF₃)₂C(Ph)OH at 0 °C. On the other hand, a hydroxy‐functionalized monomer, HEMA, was polymerized with RuCp*Cl(PPh₃)₂ in N,N‐dimethylformamide and N,N‐dimethylacetamide (DMA) to give syndiotactic polymers (r = 87–88%) with controlled molecular weights (M_w/M_n = 1.12–1.16). This was the first example of the syndiospecific living radical polymerization of HEMA. A fluoroalcohol [(CF₃)₂C(Ph)OH], which induced the syndiospecific radical polymerization of MMA, reduced the syndiospecificity in the HEMA polymerization to result in more or less atactic polymers (mm/mr/rr = 7.2/40.9/51.9%) with controlled molecular weights in the presence of RuCp*Cl(PPh₃)₂ at 80 °C. A successive living radical polymerization of HEMA in two solvents, first DMA followed by (CF₃)₂C(Ph)OH, resulted in stereoblock poly(2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate) with syndiotactic–atactic segments. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 3609–3615, 2006     

Crystallization Behavior of Syndiotactic Poly(propylene) Freeze‐Dried from Toluene at Very Dilute Concentration

Syndiotactic poly(propylene)s (s‐PPs) were freeze‐dried from toluene solutions of various concentrations. FT‐IR spectroscopy and wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction were used to characterize the s‐PPs prepared. The isothermal crystallization behavior was also investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry. The disentangled particles are of high crystallinity and show rapid crystallization rates. A trans‐planar conformation is developed when s‐PP was freeze‐dried from more dilute solution.     

Identification of a stereoblock poly(methyl methacrylate) sample with a stereocomplex

Acid hydrolysis of a stereoblock poly(methyl methacrylate) sample leads to a mixture of isotactic and syndiotactic poly(methacrylic acid) which can be separated by electrophoresis. The experiment confirms the stereochemical identity between the so-called “stereoblock” poly(methyl methacrylate) and the stereocomplex which syndiotactic and isotactic poly(methyl methacrylate) form in the ratio 2:1. A possible mechanism of replica polymerization is suggested to account for this effect.     

Living anionic polymerization of N‐methoxymethyl‐N‐isopropylacrylamide: Synthesis of well‐defined poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) having various stereoregularity

Anionic polymerization of N‐methoxymethyl‐N‐isopropylacrylamide ( 1 ) was carried out with 1,1‐diphenyl‐3‐methylpentyllithium and diphenylmethyllithium, ‐potassium, and ‐cesium in THF at ?78 °C for 2 h in the presence of Et₂Zn. The poly( 1 )s were quantitatively obtained and possessed the predicted molecular weights based on the feed molar ratios between monomer to initiators and narrow molecular weight distributions (M_w/M_n = 1.1). The living character of propagating carbanion of poly( 1 ) either at 0 or ?78 °C was confirmed by the quantitative efficiency of the sequential block copolymerization using N,N‐diethylacrylamide as a second monomer. The methoxymethyl group of the resulting poly( 1 ) was completely removed to give a well‐defined poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide), poly(NIPAM), via the acidic hydrolysis. The racemo diad contents in the poly(NIPAM)s could be widely changed from 15 to 83% by choosing the initiator systems for 1 . The poly(NIPAM)s obtained with Li⁺/Et₂Zn initiator system possessed syndiotactic‐rich configurations (r = 75–83%), while either atactic (r = 50%) or isotactic poly(NIPAM) (r = 15–22%) was generated with K⁺/Et₂Zn or Li⁺/LiCl initiator system, respectively. Atactic and syndiotactic poly(NIPAM)s (42 < r < 83%) were water‐soluble, whereas isotactic‐rich one (r < 31%) was insoluble in water. The cloud points of the aqueous solution of poly(NIPAM)s increased from 32 to 37 °C with the r‐contents. These indicated the significant effect of stereoregularity of the poly(NIPAM) on the water‐solubility and the cloud point in water © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 4832–4845, 2006     

Polymerization of (E)‐1,3‐Pentadiene and (E)‐2‐methyl‐1,3‐pentadiene with neodymium catalysts: Examination of the factors that affect the stereoselectivity

(E)‐1,3‐Pentadiene (EP) and (E)‐2‐methyl‐1,3‐pentadiene (2MP) were polymerized to cis‐1,4 polymers with homogeneous and heterogeneous neodymium catalysts to examine the influence of the physical state of the catalyst on the polymerization stereoselectivity. Data on the polymerization of (E)‐1,3‐hexadiene (EH) are also reported. EP and EH gave cis‐1,4 isotactic polymers both with the homogeneous and with the heterogeneous system, whereas 2MP gave an isotactic cis‐1,4 polymer with the heterogeneous catalyst and a syndiotactic cis‐1,4 polymer, never reported earlier, with the homogeneous one. For comparison, the results obtained with the soluble CpTiCl₃‐based catalyst (Cp = cyclopentadienyl), which gives cis‐1,4 isotactic poly(2MP), are examined. A tentative interpretation is given for the mechanism of the formation of the stereoregular polymers obtained and a complete NMR characterization of the cis‐1,4‐syndiotactic poly(2MP) is reported. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013, 51, 3227–3232     

Ring‐opening polymerization of rac‐ and meso‐lactide initiated by indium bis(phenolate) isopropoxy complexes

Ring‐opening polymerization of rac‐ and meso‐lactide initiated by indium bis(phenolate) isopropoxides {1,4‐dithiabutanediylbis(4,6‐di‐tert‐butylphenolate)}(isopropoxy)indium ( 1 ) and {1,4‐dithiabutanediylbis(4,6‐di(2‐phenyl‐2‐propyl)phenolate)}(isopropoxy)indium ( 2 ) is found to follow first‐order kinetics for monomer conversion. Activation parameters ΔH^? and ΔS^? suggest an ordered transition state. Initiators 1 and 2 polymerize meso‐lactide faster than rac‐lactide. In general, compound 2 with the more bulky cumyl ortho‐substituents in the phenolate moiety shows higher polymerization activity than 1 with tert‐butyl substituents. meso‐Lactide is polymerized to syndiotactic poly(meso‐lactides) in THF, while polymerization of rac‐lactide in THF gives atactic poly(rac‐lactides) with solvent‐dependent preferences for heterotactic (THF) or isotactic (CH₂Cl₂) sequences. Indium bis(phenolate) compound rac‐(1,2‐cyclohexanedithio‐2,2′‐bis{4,6‐di(2‐phenyl‐2‐propyl)phenolato}(isopropoxy)indium ( 3 ) polymerizes meso‐lactide to give syndiotactic poly(meso‐lactide) with narrow molecular weight distributions and rac‐lactide in THF to give heterotactically enriched poly(rac‐lactides). © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013 , 51, 4983–4991     

Spontaneous thinning/thickening deformation observed for plastic blend films and some factors affecting film deformation

The fully amorphous films of highly syndiotactic poly[(R,S)‐3‐hydroxybutyrate] (s‐PHB)/atactic poly(4‐vinylphenol) (PVPh) blends show reversible thinning/thickening phenomena at 37 °C in aqueous medium. On the other hand, isotactic poly[(R)‐3‐hydroxybutyrate] (i‐PHB)/PVPh blend film, in which i‐PHB blend component was partially crystalline, did not show any thinning/thickening phenomena under the same conditions. To elucidate the factors influencing these phenomena, the structure and molecular interaction in these blends were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry, and wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction. The FTIR spectra indicated that the ester carbonyl of PHB and the phenolic hydroxyl of PVPh formed hydrogen bonds in both the thinned and thickened s‐PHB/PVPh blend films. The blend composition, intermolecular hydrogen‐bonding interaction, crystallization behavior, miscibility, and the glass‐transition temperature of the blends affected the thinning/thickening phenomena. Some other polyesters such as poly(?‐caprolactone), poly (L‐lactic acid), atactic poly(D,L‐lactic acid), and poly(ethylene terephthalate) had no ability to exhibit thinning/thickening phenomena in water at 37 °C when they were blended with PVPh. This result implies that s‐PHB/PVPh is the rare example with the ability to show reversible thinning/thickening phenomena. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 40: 2736–2743, 2002