Effective incorporation of divinylbenzene in the isospecific styrene polymerization catalyzed by an aryl-substituted [OSSO]-type zirconium(IV) complex

Abstract

The abundant incorporation of p-divinylbenzene (DVB) in isotactic poly(styrene) units has been achieved by the stereospecific copolymerization employing an aryl-substituted [OSSO]-type zirconium(IV) precatalyst 2b in the presence of dried modified-methylaluminoxane (dMMAO) as an activator. The resulting poly(iso-styrene‐co‐DVB)s possessed very high molecular weights (M_w = 93,000−131,000 g mol⁻¹) and unimodal polydispersity indices (PDI = 1.8−2.5). The corresponding activities were recorded to reach up to 738 g mmol(2b)^–1 h^–1. The DVB contents (7–20 mol %) in the copolymer could be varied depending upon the feed concentration. These copolymers exhibited an amorphous phase structure with glass transition temperatures (T_g values) of 84.8–110.9 °C.

We investigated stereospecific copolymerization of styrene with p-divinylbenzene (DVB) using an aryl-substituted [OSSO]-type zirconium(IV) precatalyst with dried modified-methylaluminoxane (dMMAO) as an activator. The resulting poly(iso-styrene‐co‐DVB)s possessed very high molecular weights (M_w = 93,000−131,000 g mol⁻¹) and unimodal polydispersity indices (PDI = 1.8−2.5). The DVB contents (7–20 mol %) in the copolymer could be varied depending upon the feed concentration. These copolymers exhibited an amorphous phase structure with glass transition temperatures (T_g values) of 84.8–110.9 °C.