Living ring-opening metathesis polymerization of cyclobutene: the thermodynamic effect of a reversibly binding ligand
作者:Zhe Wu、David R. Wheeler、Robert H. Grubbs
DOI:10.1021/ja00027a021
日期:1992.1
Trimethylphosphine, PMe3, is shown to bind reversibly to the alkylidene complex W(CH-t-Bu)(NAr)(O-t-Bu)2 (1, Ar = 2,6-diisopropylphenyl), and the binding constants at several temperatures are measured (DELTA-H-degrees = -15.7 kcal/mol, DELTA-S-degrees = -40.7 eu). In the presence of PMe3, 1 catalyzes the living ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of cyclobutene to yield polybutadiene with a polydispersity index (PDI) as low as 1.03, based on gel permeation chromatography versus polystyrene standards. The polymerization in the presence of PMe3 is first order in monomer and catalyst concentrations with DELTA-DELTA-G 273K = 19.8 kcal/mol, DELTA-DELTA-H(p) = 20.8 kcal/mol, and DELTA-DELTA-S(p) = 4 eu. The observed rate of initiation of the polymerization is much greater than the rate of propagation. In the absence of trimethylphosphine, the polydispersity of the polymer produced with 1 is broader (PDI > 2) due to the rate of propagation being much greater than that of initiation and the existence of chain termination. This difference is attributed to the fact that PMe3 binds more strongly to the propagating alkylidene complex than to the more sterically bulky initiating neopentylidene.