Vinyl‐Type Polymerization of Norbornene Dicarboxylic Acid Dialkyl Esters

Summary: Poly(cis‐norbornene‐exo‐2,3‐dicarboxylic acid dialkyl esters) (alkyl = Me, Et, Pr, Bu, Pen, and Hex) are synthesized as a vinyl‐type with a palladium(II ) catalyst in high yield from easily prepared, pure exo‐monomers. The polymers show good solubility in common organic solvents and excellent thermal stability up to 330 °C. The polymers with alkyl groups larger than methyl exhibit a two‐step thermal degradation profile of an initial thermal degradation of side‐chains starting at 350 °C, followed by thermal degradation of the norbornene backbone starting at ca. 430 °C. The glass transition temperature decreases and the mechanical flexibility increases as the alkyl length of the side‐chain increases.

Normalized loss shear modulus (G″) versus temperature for polynorbornene dicarboxylic acid dialkyl esters.     

Rheological properties of ferrite nanocomposites based on nylon‐66

Effects of ferrite nanoparticles (0.1–20 wt %) on the rheological and other physical properties of nylon‐66 were investigated. The presence of ferrite nanoparticles less than 1 wt % increased the crystallization temperature (T_c) by 4.2 °C with ferrite content, but further addition decreased T_c. The onset temperature of degradation was increased by 7.3 °C at only 0.1 wt % loading of ferrite, after which the thermal stability of nylon‐66 was decreased with ferrite content. The incorporation of ferrite nanoparticles more than 5 wt % increased the dynamic viscosity (η′) with the loading level. Further, it produced notably shear thickening behavior in the low frequency, after which high degree of shear thinning was followed with ferrite content. In the Cole–Cole plot, the nanocomposites with ferrite lower than 5 wt % presented a single master curve, while further addition gave rise to a deviation from the curve. The relaxation time (λ) was increased with ferrite content and the difference of λ between nylon‐66 and its nanocomposite was greater at lower frequency. The tensile strength was a little increased up to 1 wt % loading, after which it was decreased with increasing the loading level. In addition, the introduction of the nanoparticles increased tensile modulus and decreased the ductility with ferrite content. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 371–377, 2006     

Transitions and relaxations in poly(1,4-phenylene ether)

Transitions and relaxation phenomena in poly(1,4-phenylene ether) were studied over temperature range from 100 to 800°K by applying a combination of calorimetric, dilatometric, dynamic mechanical, and dielectric techniques. Amorphous polymer, exhibiting no x-ray crystallinity, is obtained only by quenching molten samples at extremely fast cooling rates (ca. 1000°C/sec) and by minimizing thermal gradients within specimens. A weakly active mechanical relaxation region with a loss maximum at 155°K of unknown origin was observed. The glass transition interval of completely amorphous polymer is characterized by a discontinuous jump in heat capacity of 2.76 cal/deg per chain segment occurring at 363°K (corrected for kinetic effects), and a fourfold increase in the coefficient of linear thermal expansion. Strongly active, dynamic mechanical relaxations occur in the T_g interval with a loss maximum at 371°K (f = 110 cps) and resulting in a drop in the dynamic storage modulus from 10¹¹ to 10⁹ dyne/cm². Cold crystallization takes place just above T_g, to yield a polymer with an x-ray crystallinity of 0.7 and a heat of crystallization of 270 cal/mole. The crystalline polymer shows a complex melt structure. Depending upon the thermal history, multiple endothermic peaks indicative of structural reorganizations occur just prior to fusion. Very high dielectric losses with a wide distribution of relaxation times were observed in the melt interval. The mechanical relaxation spectrum in this region is typical of viscous flow behavior.     

Melting behavior of highly stretched isotactic polypropylene film

Isotactic polypropylene film was stretched in poly(ethylene glycol) at 140°C and its melting behavior was investigated by using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC-1B). The shape of the melting curve depends largely on the stretching ratio, v. A sample stretched to moderate extension (1 < v < 3.5–4) has only a single melting peak (163°C) in the thermogram. When the sample is stretched beyond v = 3.5–4, the thermogram becomes more and more complex with increase of v, and some peaks appear when stretched to 10 < v < 13. The lowest peak which is considered to be the melting peak of the intermolecular crystals produced by the unfolding of chain molecules in the lamellae develops gradually with increase of v. In the thermogram for v = 18 the lowest temperature peak is most pronounced, in contrast to the highest temperature peak which decreases markedly in intensity. The phenomenon shows that large amounts of lamellar crystals are converted to intermolecular crystals in this region. On further stretching (v > 20) a very sharp high temperature peak appears, whose half-width is about 1°C. Qualitatively similar results were obtained for the samples stretched in poly(ethylene glycol) at 150°C and in air at 140 and 150°C.     

Bio-based benzoxazine from renewable L-tyrosine: Synthesis,polymerization, and properties

Developing thermosets derived from renewable sources is of great importance. In this work, a fully bio-based benzoxazine monomer, 3,6-bis((3-(furan-2-ylmethyl)-3,4-dihydro-2H-benzo[e][1,3]oxazin-6-yl)methyl)piperazine-2,5-dione (TCDPF), is conveniently synthesized from L-tyrosine cyclic dipeptide (TCDP), furfurylamine and paraformaldehyde. The chemical structure of TCDPF is confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) techniques. The curing behavior of TCDPF is investigated by differential scanning calorimetry and in situ FT-IR techniques. After temperature-programmed curing, the thermomechanical property and thermal stability of the resulting TCDPF polymer (PTCDPF) are evaluated by dynamic mechanical analysis and thermogravimetric analysis techniques, respectively. It is found that PTCDPF have excellent comprehensive performance such as high glass transition temperature (T_g = 322 °C), high thermal degradation temperature (T_5% = 342 °C, T_10% = 395 °C in N₂ atmosphere), and high char yield (CY = 51.3% at 800 °C in N₂ atmosphere). The results demonstrate that L-tyrosine is a promising bio-based raw material for preparing high performance polybenzoxazines.     

High temperature phosphorylated or nonphosphorylated laminating resins based on maleimido-substituted aromatic s-triazines

Several new phosphorylated or nonphosphorylated maleimide or nadimide systems containing s-triazine rings were synthesized. Their synthesis was accomplished by simple methods utilizing readily available and relatively inexpensive starting materials. All polymer precursors were characterized by infrared (IR) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H-NMR) spectroscopy. They were thermally polymerized to heat-resistant laminating resins. Thermal characterization of monomers and their cured resins was achieved using differential thermal analysis (DTA), dynamic thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and isothermal gravimetric analysis (IGA). The cured resins were stable up to 304–330°C both in nitrogen and air atmospheres and formed anaerobic char yield 49–59% at 800°C. The phosphorylated polymers showed a lower temperature of initial weight loss but afforded higher anaerobic char yield than did the corresponding nonphosphorylated polymers. The thermal properties of the polymers were correlated with their chemical structure.     

Structure and properties of poly-2,5-distyrylpyrazine

Poly-2,5-distyrylpyrazine (poly-DSP) was investigated by differential thermal analysis (DTA), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and measurements of dynamic viscoelastic and electrical properties. From DTA and TGA studies it was confirmed that poly-DSP melts at 321°C and depolymerizes rapidly to the monomer at temperatures between 335°C and 345°C in helium. The polymer is affected by oxygen above 200°C. The E′ value from dynamic viscoelasticity measurements on amorphous film is 2 × 10¹¹ dyne/cm² at room temperature. It decrease abruptly in the temperature range 140–150°C; but the net decrease of E′ within this temperature range is relatively small. The electrical properties of amorphous poly-DSP are characterized by a small temperature dependence of the dielectric constant between room temperature and 100°C. The dielectric loss tangent was observed to be small, and the dc conductivity was extremely small. It is concluded that rotation of the phenyl branches in the polymer occurs above ?30°C and the glass transition occurs at about 150°C. These properties are discussed in some detail in relation to the polymer structure.     

Mark-Houwink relations for linear polyethylene in 1-chloronaphthalene and 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene

The parameters in the Mark-Houwink relationship, [η] = K′M?_v^a, for linear polyethylene in 1-chloronaphthalene and 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene at 130°C have been estimated. They were found by measuring the limiting viscosity numbers of a series of fractions with molecular weights ranging from less than 10,000 to almost 700,000. The results are for 1-chloronaphthalene, [η] =0.0555 M?_v^0.684 (with a standard error of 0.0064 in K′ and 0.010 in a) and for 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene, [η] = 0.0392M?_v^0.725 (with a standard error of 0.00703 in K′ and 0.015 in a), where [η] is expressed in ml/g. The unperturbed end-to-end distance calculated from the viscosity-molecular weight data agrees with the theoretically expected value.     

Kinetic Study on the Pretreatment and Enzymatic Saccharification of Rice Hull for the Production of Fermentable Sugars

The production of fermentable sugars from rice hull was studied by dilute acid pretreatment and enzymatic saccharification. Rice hull (15%, w/v) was pretreated by 1% (v/v) sulfuric acid at high temperature (120∼160 °C) for 15, 30, 45, and 60 min, respectively. The maximum sugar concentration from rice hull in the prehydrolysate was obtained at 140 °C for 30 min, but the enzymatic saccharification yield from the corresponding pretreated rice hull is not high. To another aspect, the maximum enzymatic saccharification yield was achieved at 160 °C for 60 min, while the recovery of fermentable sugars was the poorest. To take account of fermentable sugars from pretreatment and enzymatic saccharification, the maximum yield of sugars was obtained only when rice hull was treated at 140 °C for 30 min. Under this condition, 72.5% (w/w) of all sugars generated from the raw material can be recovered. The kinetic study on the enzymatic saccharification of dilute acid pretreated rice hull was also performed in this work by a modified Michaelis–Menten model and a diffusion-limited model. After calculation by a linear and a non-linear regression analysis, both models showed good relation with the experimental results.     

Dynamic light scattering studies of atactic and syndiotactic poly(methyl methacrylate)s in dilute theta solution

The present article considers the coil‐to‐globule transition behavior of atactic and syndiotactic poly(methyl methacrylates), (PMMA) in their theta solvent, n‐butyl chloride (nBuCl). Changes in Rh in these polymers with temperature in dilute theta solutions were investigated by dynamic light scattering. The hydrodynamic size of atactic PMMA (a‐PMMA‐1) in nBuCl (M_w: 2.55 × 10⁶ g/mol) decreases to 61% of that in the unperturbed state at 13.0°C. Atactic PMMA (a‐PMMA‐2) with higher molecular weight (M_w: 3.3 × 10⁶ g/mol) shows higher contraction in the same theta solvent (α_η = R_h(T)/R_h (θ) = 0.44) at a lower temperature, 7.25°C. Although syndiotactic PMMA (s‐PMMA) has lower molecular weight than that of atactic samples (M_w: 1.2 × 10⁶), a comparable chain collapse was observed (α_η = 0.63) at 9.0°C. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 37: 2253–2260, 1999     

Solid-state coextrusion of poly(ethylene terephthalate). I. Drawing of amorphous PET

Films of uniaxially oriented poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), M _v = 81,000, have been drawn by solid-state coextrusion in the range 40–100°C surrounded by polyethylene. This is well below the PET melting temperature and in some cases below its glass transition temperature. Properties of the extrudates, such as degree of crystallinity, mechanical and thermal properties, were investigated as a function of coextrusion temperature and draw ratio (EDR ≤ 4.4). The results show that the percent crystallinity depends strongly on draw ratio, whereas its sensitivity to extrusion temperature is limited only to the highest draw ratio (4.4). On the other hand, Young's modulus was sensitive to both extrusion temperature and draw ratio, exhibiting a maximum at EDR = 4.4 and T_ext = 65°C. Above this temperature, moduli decrease apparently because of increased chain mobility, resulting in dissipation of chain orientation. Furthermore, changes in yield and tensile strength followed the changes in mechanical properties, suggesting that they are dominated by the same factors. The cold-crystallization temperature T_CC also revealed information about the morphological changes occurring during the extrusion drawing. For samples of EDR = 4.4, T_CC increased with extrusion temperature, suggesting again dissipation of orientation by thermal motions. On the other hand, T_CC decreases with EDR, and a ΔT_CC as high as 73°C was found. Conventional drawing of amorphous PET has been widely reported. To our knowledge this is the first time oriented PET has been prepared using the advantages of solid-state coextrusion.     

Anomalous change of viscosity and conductivity in blood plasma lipoproteins in the physiological temperature range

Study on temperature dependencies of viscosity (η) and conductivity (σ) of blood lipoproteins [high‐density lipoprotein (HDL), low‐density lipoprotein (LDL), and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL)] and A‐I apolipoprotein (human and rats) has revealed the presence of the anomalous region at temperature 35–38±0.5°C (T_c). Transition width is 2°C. Viscous flow enthalpy, activation energy (ΔH), and transition enthalpy (ΔH_trans.) as well as thermal coefficients Δη/ΔT and Δσ/ΔT on either side of T_c have been calculated. Transition heat is very low in human HDL, VLDL and apoA‐I, and in LDL it is higher by a factor of 4–5. Some mechanisms of the cortisol interaction with HDL and apoA‐I have been studied by infrared (IR) spectroscopy and conductometry. The hormone has been found to strengthen the tangle → α‐helixes and tangle → β‐structures transitions and increase the ordering of lipids. Therewith, ΔH_trans. rises markedly (13 and more times), and at the same time the anomalous region is shifted by 1–2°C in apoA‐I. The anomalous change of viscosity and conductivity in the physiological temperature range for all lipoprotein fractions and apoA‐I seems to be due to the structural phase transition in both proteins and lipids. In view of the heat capacity jump and a low value of ΔH_trans. in human HDL, one may assume the phospholipids of these particles to exhibit the orientation transition of smectic A↔C type, which is assigned to the second type of phase transition. The structural transition into apoA‐I is likely to contain the elements of phase transition of the first and second types. In human and rat VLDL, the smectic → cholesteric phase transition seems to occur. Enthalpy of viscous flow and structural transition in VLDL is higher for rats than for human. The pH shift of the medium to the neutral region (pH 6.1) results in shifting the anomalous region by 1–2°C. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 81: 348–369, 2001     

Synthesis and properties of eighteen-arm polybutadienes

A series of eighteen-arm regular star polybutadienes with molecular weights between 9.9 × 10⁴ and 1.9 × 10⁶ were prepared and characterized. Evidence is presented for the expanded configuration of the large eighteen-arm stars in a θ solvent. The intrinsic viscosities of the eighteen-arm stars gave g′ = [η]/[η]_l = 0.28₄ in dioxane at 27°C (θ solvent) and 0.22₅ in toluene at 35°C (good solvent). The linear viscoelastic properties of the melts were also determined. The plateau modulus, G_N°, is the same as for linear polybutadiene. The zero-shear viscosities (η₀) and the longest relaxation times (T_max) increase exponentially with the arm molecular weight M_a and are identical to those of four-arm polybutadienes with the same M_a. The zero-shear recoverable compliance (J_e°) increases linearly with molecular weight. v′ in J_e°G_N° = v′N_a, where N_a is the number of entanglements per arm, is 0.95 slightly larger than 0.66 for four-arm polybutadienes. Similarly, g₂ is higher than calculated from the Rouse–Ham theory.     

Comparative Studies of Thermally Induced Homolytic CarbonCarbon Bond Cleavage Reactions of Strained Dicarba[2]ferrocenophanes and Their Ring‐Opened Oligomers and Polymers

Reactivity studies of dicarba[2]ferrocenophanes and also their corresponding ring‐opened oligomers and polymers have been conducted in order to provide mechanistic insight into the processes that occur under the conditions of their thermal ring‐opening polymerisation (ROP) (300 °C). Thermolysis of dicarba[2]ferrocenophane rac‐[Fe(η⁵‐C₅H₄)₂(CHPh)₂] (rac‐ 14 ; 300 °C, 1 h) does not lead to thermal ROP. To investigate this system further, rac‐ 14 was heated in the presence of an excess of cyclopentadienyl anion, to mimic the postulated propagating sites for thermally polymerisable analogues. This afforded acyclic [(η⁵‐C₅H₅)Fe(η⁵‐C₅H₄)‐CH₂Ph] ( 17 ) through cleavage of both a Fe?Cp bond and also the C?C bond derived from the dicarba bridge. Evidence supporting a potential homolytic C?C bond cleavage pathway that occurs in the absence of ring‐strain was provided through thermolysis of an acyclic analogue of rac‐ 14 , namely [(η⁵‐C₅H₅)Fe(η⁵‐C₅H₄)(CHPh)₂‐C₅H₅] ( 15 ; 300 °C, 1 h), which also afforded ferrocene derivative 17 . This reactivity pathway appears general for post‐ROP species bearing phenyl substituents on adjacent carbons, and consequently was also observed during the thermolysis of linear polyferrocenylethylene [Fe(η⁵‐C₅H₄)₂(CHPh)₂]_n ( 16 ; 300 °C, 1 h), which was prepared by photocontrolled ROP of rac‐ 14 at 5 °C. This afforded ferrocene derivative [Fe(η⁵‐C₅H₄CH₂Ph)₂] ( 23 ) through selective cleavage of the ?H(Ph)C?C(Ph)H? bonds in the dicarba linkers. These processes appear to be facilitated by the presence of bulky, radical‐stabilising phenyl substituents on each carbon of the linker, as demonstrated through the contrasting thermal properties of unsubstituted linear trimer [(η⁵‐C₅H₅)Fe(η⁵‐C₅H₄)(CH₂)₂(η⁵‐C₅H₄)Fe(η⁵‐C₅H₄)(CH₂)₂(η⁵‐C₅H₄)Fe(η⁵‐C₅H₅)] ( 29 ) with a ?H₂C?CH₂? spacer, which proved significantly more stable under analogous conditions. Evidence for the radical intermediates formed through C?C bond cleavage was detected through high‐resolution mass spectrometric analysis of co‐thermolysis reactions involving rac‐ 14 and 15 (300 °C, 1 h), which indicated the presence of higher molecular weight species, postulated to be formed through cross‐coupling of these intermediates.     

Effects of molecular weight of nitrocellulose on structure and properties of polyurethane/nitrocellulose IPNs

Semi‐interpenetrating polymer network (semi‐IPN) coatings were prepared by using castor oil‐based polyurethane (PU) and nitrocellulose (NC) with various viscosity‐average molecular weights (M_η) from 6 × 10⁴ to 42 × 10⁴, and coated on a regenerated cellulose (RC) film to obtain water‐resistant film. The PU/NC coatings and coated films, which were cured at 80°C for 5 min and 2 min, respectively, were investigated by infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, swelling test, strength test, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results show that the crosslink densities of the PU/NC semi‐IPNs were smaller than that of pure PU, and decreased with the decrease of M_η of nitrocellulose (NC M_η), indicating NC molecules cohered intimately with PU, and hindered the PU network formation. The physical and mechanical properties of the films coated with PU/NC coatings were significantly improved. With the increase of NC M_η, the strength and thermal stability of the coated films increased, but the pliability, water resistivity, and optical transmission decreased slowly. The PU/NC coating with low NC M_η more readily penetrated into the RC film, and reacted with cellulose, resulting in a strong interfacial bonding and dense surface caused by intimate blend of PU/NC in the coated films. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 37: 1623–1631, 1999     

Synthesis of novel tri‐benzoxazine and effect of phenolic nucleophiles on its ring‐opening polymerization

A trifunctional benzoxazine, 1,3,5‐tris(3‐phenyl‐3,4‐dihydro‐2H‐benzo[1,3]oxazin‐6‐yl)benzene (T‐Bz) was synthesized and in an effort to reduce its curing temperature (curing maxima at 238 °C), it was mixed with various phenolic nucleophiles such as phenol (PH), p‐methoxy phenol (MPH), 2‐methyl resorcinol (MR), hydroquinone (HQ), pyrogallol (PG), 2‐naphthol (NPH), 2,7‐dihydroxy naphthalene (DHN), and 1,1'‐bi‐2‐naphthol (BINOL). The influence of these phenolic nucleophiles on ring‐opening polymerization temperature of T‐Bz was examined by DSC and FTIR analysis. T‐Bz undergoes a complete ring‐opening addition reaction in the presence of bi‐ and trifunctional phenolic nucleophiles (MR/HQ/PG/DHN) at 140 °C (heated for 3 h) and forms a networked polybenzoxazine (NPBz). The NPBzs showed a high thermal stability with T_d20 of 350–465 °C and char yield of 67–78% at 500 °C; however, a diminutive weight loss (6.9–9.8%) was observed at 150–250 °C (T_d5: 215–235 °C) due to degradation of phenolic end groups. This article also gives an insight on how the traces of phenolic impurities can alter the thermal properties of pure benzoxazine monomer as well as its corresponding polymer. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 2811–2819     

Crystal Transformation and Development of Tensile Properties upon Drawing of Poly(L-lactic acid) by Solid-State Coextrusion: Effects of Molecular Weight

Melt-crystallized films of poly(L -lactic acid) (PLLA) with M_v in the range of 3.8 ∼ 46 × 10⁴ consisting of α-form crystals were uniaxially drawn by solid-state coextrusion. The effects of M_v, extrusion draw ratio (EDR), and extrusion temperature (T_ext) on the crystal/crystal transformation from α- to β-form crystals and the resultant tensile properties of drawn products were studied. The crystal transformation proceeded with EDR and more rapidly for the higher M_v's. Furthermore, the crystal transformation proceeded most rapidly with EDR at a T_ext around 130 °C, independently of the M_v's. As a result of the optimum combination of processing variables influencing the the crystal transformation (M_v, T_ext, and drawability), highly oriented films consisting of β-form crystals alone were obtained by coextrusion of higher M_v samples at T_ext's slightly below the melting temperature (150 ∼ 170 °C) and at higher EDR's > 11. Both the tensile modulus and strength increased rapidly with EDR. The modulus at a given EDR was slightly higher for the samples with higher M_v's. In contrast, the strength at a given EDR was remarkably higher for the higher M _v's. The highest tensile modulus of 8.0 GPa and strength of 500 MPa were obtained with the sample of the highest M_v of 46 × 10⁴ coextruded at 170 °C to the highest EDR of 14.     

Development of novel cardo‐containing phenylethynyl‐terminated polyimide with high thermal properties

A phenylethynyl‐terminated reactive diluent [Card‐4‐phenylethynylphthalic anhydride (PEPA)], which contained fluorenyl cardo structures, was successfully synthesized and used as a modifier for flexible phenylethynyl‐terminated imide oligomer (PEI‐PEPA). The chemical structure, crosslink characterization, molecular weights, and thermal properties of the products were characterized. The imide systems with addition of 10, 20, 30, and 40 wt% Card‐PEPA to PEI‐PEPA (PEI‐PEPA‐Card) and their cured resin systems were prepared. The thermal curing behaviors of imide systems at different heating rates were analyzed by using differential scanning calorimetry. Thermal properties such as glass transition temperature (T_g) and char yield at 800°C of the resultant resin systems were studied by differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic mechanical analysis, and thermogravimetric analysis. The rheological properties were also investigated using a dynamic rheometry. These properties were found to be outstanding compared with pure PEI‐PEPA. The uncured imide systems exhibited lower T_g and lower isothermal viscosity with addition of Card‐PEPA. Furthermore, the T_g and char yield of the cured resin systems increased with addition of Card‐PEPA. The cured resin systems containing 40 wt% Card‐PEPA exhibited the highest T_g of 359°C and char yield at 800°C of 66.5%. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Zirconocenium cation catalysis of propene polymerization

rac-Ethylenebis(1-η⁵-indenyl)dimethylzirconium (1) was reacted with triphenylcarbenium tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)borate (2) to produce in situ the rac-ethylenebis(indenyl)methylzirconium cation (3). This aluminium-free catalyst showed propene polymerization activity (A) and stereoselectivity which both increase with the decrease of polymerization temperature (T_p). At very low T_p, 3 behaved as a “single-site” catalyst. An efficient way to produce such cation is to react ansa-zirconocene dichloride with 2 in the presence of TEA (=triethylaluminium). A superior cationic catalyst was obtained from rac-dimethylsilylenebis(1-η⁵-indenyl)dichlorozirconium, 2, and TEA, which polymerizes propene at −20°C(−55°C) with activity of 2×10⁹ (3×10⁸) g polypropene per (mol Zr η mol C₃H₆ η h) to polypropenes which are 93.8% (99.4%) isotactic with melting temperature T_m = 152.6°C (159.9°C) and viscosity-average molecular weight M_v = 1.4×10⁵ (2.2×10⁵). The addition of methylaluminoxane lowers the A of the cationic catalyst especially at low T_p. Rigorously speaking, the cation derived from 1 or 3 behaves as a “single site” catalyst only at very low T_p. The use of TEA significantly and unexpectedly enhances the efficiency of the zirconocenium catalyst system.     

Synthesis and characterization of high molecular weight poly(1,2-propylene carbonate-<Emphasis Type="Italic">co</Emphasis>-1,2-cyclohexylene carbonate) using zinc complex catalyst

Using supported multi-component zinc dicarboxylate catalyst,poly（1,2-propylene carbonate-co-1,2-cyclohexylene carbonate）（PPCHC） was successfully synthesized from carbon dioxide（CO₂） with propylene oxide（PO） and cyclohexene oxide（CHO）.The conversion of epoxides dramatically increased up to 89.7%（yield:384.2 g of polymer per g of Zn） with increasing reaction temperature from 60℃to 80℃.The optimized reaction temperature is 80℃.The chemical structure,the molecular weight,as well as thermal and mechanical properties of the resulting terpolymers were investigated extensively. When CHO feed content（mol%） is lower than 10%,the PPCHC terpolymers have number average molecular weight（M_n） ranging from 102×10³ to 202×10³ and molecular weight distribution（MWD） values ranging from 2.8 to 3.5.In contrast to poly（propylene carbonate）（PPC）,the introduction of small amount of CHO leads to increase in the glass transition temperature from 38.0℃to 42.6℃.Similarly,the mechanical strength of the synthesized terpolymer is greatly enhanced due to the incorporation of CHO.These improvements in mechanical and thermal properties are of importance for the practical application of PPC.