Syndiospecific living polymerization of 4-methylstyrene with (trimethyl)pentamethylcyclopentadienyltitanium/tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane/trioctylaluminium catalytic system

The polymerization of 4-methylstyrene with the (trimethyl)pentamethylcyclopentadienyltitanium (Cp*TiMe₃)/tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane (B(C₆F₅)₃)/trioctylaluminium (AlOct₃) catalytic system at –20°C was carried out. The number-average molecular weight (M_n) of the polymers increased linearly with increasing monomer conversion. The propagating chain ends were successfully reacted with tert-butyl isocyanate, and the M_n of the polymer determined by ¹H NMR was in good agreement with the M_n determined by GPC measurement. It is concluded that this catalytic system promoted the syndiospecific living polymerization of 4-methylstyrene.