Hydrogenated 1,4-insertion of butadiene in the copolymerization with propylene using an isospecific zirconocene catalyst

Poly(propylene-ran-1,3-butadiene) that contained pendant vinyl groups derived from 1,2-inserted butadiene units was selectively synthesized by rac-dimethylsilylbis(2-methyl-4-phenylindenyl)zirconium dichloride (Ph-Ind) activated with modified methylaluminoxane (MMAO) in the presence of hydrogen. The copolymers obtained without hydrogen had 1,2-inserted and 1,4-inserted butadiene units. The addition of hydrogen to the copolymerization improved the activity by approximately 1000-fold and gave the copolymer only with 1,2-inserted butadiene units, of which the content was equal to the copolymer obtained without hydrogen. The 13C NMR analysis of the copolymers clarified that butadiene also inserted into the copolymer as a tetramethylene unit, of which the content was almost the same as that of 1,4-inserted butadiene units observed in the absence of hydrogen. No signal that could be assigned to cyclic structures or long branched side chains was observed. These results indicate that pi-allyl species of zirconocenes formed by 1,4-butadiene insertion at the growing polymer chain ends transformed to the tetramethylene chain end by hydrogenation and continued successive propylene insertion.