ROMP of Functionalized Cyclooctene and Norbornene Derivatives and their Copolymerization with Cyclooctene

In this work, two novel monomers, a cyclooctene and a norbornene derivative, including the trifluoromethylphenyl ester group, are prepared by chemical modification of 1,5-cyclooctadiene and 5-norbornene-2-carboxylic acid, respectively. The ring-opening metathesis polymerization of each one of these monomers, as well as the commercial carboxylic acid, is confirmed in the presence of Grubbs’ second generation catalyst in CH₂Cl₂. The three functionalized monomers are subsequently copolymerized with cis-cyclooctene in order to obtain modified polycyclooctenes. Solubility is enhanced by the incorporation of the functional group. The thermal properties of the obtained homopolymers and copolymers are studied by DSC and TGA, showing that crystalline behavior strongly depends on the cyclooctene content.