M.L. Gringolts

Synthesis and gas permeation properties of new ROMP polymers from silyl substituted norbornadienes and norbornenes

Abstract Using ring opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) the novel linear polynorbornadiene and polynorbornene (PNB) derivatives bearing silicon-containing moieties were prepared in the presence of RuCl 3 ·3H 2 O, RuCl 2 (PPh 3 ) 3 , and WCl 6 /tetramethyldisilacyclobutane catalysts with the yields up to 98%. Gas permeation properties (permeability and diffusion coefficients) of the polymers obtained were measured. It was shown that polynorbornadiene containing the Si(CH 3 ) 3 group has the transport parameters similar to those of poly(trimethylsilyl norbornene) studied earlier. On the other hand, PNB bearing two Si(CH 3 ) 3 groups in each repeat unit reveals much greater gas permeability induced mainly by increased solubility coefficients. The latter result is consistent with the much higher glass transition temperature of this polymer.

Synthesis and gas separation properties of metathesis polynorbornenes with different positions of one or two SiMe3 groups in a monomer unit

The metathesis polymerization of 5,5-bis(trimethylsilyl)norbornene, 2,3-bis(trimethylsilyl)norbornadiene, and exo,endo-3,4-bis(trimethylsilyl)tricyclo[4.2.1.02,5]non-7-ene with the catalysts WCl6/1,1,3,3-tetramethyl-1,3-disilacyclobutane, RuCl3/EtOH, and the Grubbs Ru-carbene complex Cl2(PCy3)2Ru=CHPh has been studied. New polymers with yields of up to 98% and M w = (2−39) × 105 are prepared. New metathesis copolymers of 5-trimethylsilylnorbonene with 5-(hydroxymethyl)norbornene and 5-(trimethylsiloxymethyl)norbornene are synthesized in the presence of the Cl2(PCy3)2Ru=CHPh catalyst with yields of 78 and 98%. The gas-permeability study of the above series of the metathesis polymers containing one or two Me3Si substituents in each monomer unit shows that the introduction of the second SiMe3 group markedly improves their transport characteristics. A change in the character of the backbone (polynorbornadiene, polytricyclononene) has a small effect on the permeability of the polymers. The metathesis polynorbornene with two vicinal SiMe3 groups exhibits higher gas-permeability coefficients than its isomer with germinal substituents. The homopolymer of 5-trimethylsilylnorbornene is characterized by better transport parameters than its copolymers with -OSiMe3 and -OH substituents.

Synthesis of norbornene–cyclooctene copolymers by the cross-metathesis of polynorbornene with polyoctenamer

Copolymers of norbornene and cyclooctene were synthesized for the first time by the cross-metathesis of polynorbornene with polyoctenamer. This strategy made it possible to use the 1st generation Grubbs catalyst, which exhibits low activity toward copolymerization of those monomers. Statistical multiblock copolymers with average block lengths varying from 200 to 2 units were obtained.

New quadricyclane-based cyclic polycarbosilanes

49 Previously, we showed that silicon-substituted norbornenes and norbornadienes can be widely used for synthesizing macromolecular structures with regularly changed substituents with the aim of revealing theoretically and practically important structure– property relationships [1]. It turned out that polynorbornenes containing trimethylsilyl side groups have good gas transport properties and can serve as efficient membrane materials [2]. We showed that it is precisely Me 3 Si substituents that are responsible for the gas-separation properties and an increase in their number in the monomeric unit enhances the permeability coefficients of polymers. When studying the synthesis of polycarbosilanes of this type, we demonstrated that norbornene and norbornadiene with two SiMe 3 substituents, being active monomers in metathesis polymerization, are almost not polymerized by the addition (vinyl) scheme (Scheme 1). An analogous problem for fluoro-substituted norbornenes was described in [3]. Scheme 1. In the present paper, we describe a new efficient approach to the synthesis of Me 3 Si-substituted norbornenes capable of polymerizing not only by the metathesis mechanism but also by the addition one. This approach involves removal of bulky Me 3 Si substituents from the double bond responsible for polymerization due to the synthesis of 3,4-bis(trimethylsilyl)tricyclo[4.2.1.0 2,5 ]non-7-ene. This compound was synthesized by a reaction that had not been described in organosilicon chemistry, namely, by the reaction of quadricyclane with the corresponding organochlorosilane, trans -1,2-bis(trichlorosilyl)ethylene, and subsequent methylation of the resulting chlorosilyltricyclononene (Scheme 2). Me3Si SiMe3

Hydrodynamic and Conformational Properties of Silicon-Substituted Addition-Type Polynorbornene Macromolecules

Seven polynorbornene samples containing trimethylsilyl side groups that were prepared by the addition polymerization of 5-trimethylsilyl-2-norbornene in the presence of catalytic systems (π-C5H9NiCl)2-methylaluminoxane and nickel naphthenate-methylaluminoxane have been studied by translational isothermal diffusion and viscometry. The molecular masses of the polymer samples are measured. Kuhn-Mark-Houwink equations for diffusion coefficient D and intrinsic viscosity [η] are determined in toluene at 25°C: D = 6.94 × 10−4 M −0.61 and [η] = 1.53 × 10−3 M 0.82. The equilibrium rigidity of polymers chains is estimated as A = 47 ± 9 A. The conformational features of the silicon-containing polynorbornene are analyzed by the PM3 quantumchemical semiempirical method on the basis of simulation of its decamer chain fragments. In terms of microstructure and equilibrium rigidity, the above-described addition poly(trimethylsilylnorbornene) is close to poly(trimethylsilylpropyne) synthesized using niobium pentachloride as a catalyst. This finding explains similar membrane gas-separation properties of these polymers.

Modification of silicon-substituted polynorbornenes by epoxidation of main chain double bonds

Postpolymerization modification of metathesis Si-containing polynorbornenes by epoxidation of double bonds of the main chain was carried out for the first time. New polynorbornenes containing one or two side Me3Si substituents in a monomer unit and oxirane fragments in the main chain were obtained and characterized. Some features of epoxidation of polynorbornenes by 1.1-dimethyldioxirane (formed in situ) or m-chloroperbenzoic acid were studied. It was shown that m-chloroperbenzoic acid was an effective epoxidation agent, which did not affect Si−C bonds in polynorbornenes. It was found that the preparation of high-molecular-weight epoxidated polynorbornenes required one to introduce an oxidation inhibitor into the reaction mixture and to perform the reaction in toluene. Chlorine-containing solvents, such as chloroform and chlorobenzene, promoted the destruction of polynorbornenes. It was shown that the introduction of oxirane fragments into the polynorbornene main chain increased its Tg by 15−40°C.

Cross-metathesis of polynorbornene with polyoctenamer: a kinetic study

Summary The cross-metathesis of polynorbornene and polyoctenamer in d-chloroform mediated by the 1st generation Grubbs’ catalyst Cl2(PCy3)2Ru=CHPh is studied by monitoring the kinetics of carbene transformation and evolution of the dyad composition of polymer chains with in situ 1H and ex situ 13C NMR spectroscopy. The results are interpreted in terms of a simple kinetic two-stage model. At the first stage of the reaction all Ru-benzylidene carbenes are transformed into Ru-polyoctenamers within an hour, while the polymer molar mass is considerably decreased. The second stage actually including interpolymeric reactions proceeds much slower and takes one day or more to achieve a random copolymer of norbornene and cyclooctene. Its rate is limited by the interaction of polyoctenamer-bound carbenes with polynorbornene units, which is hampered, presumably due to steric reasons. Polynorbornene-bound carbenes are detected in very low concentrations throughout the whole process thus indicating their higher reactivity, as compared with the polyoctenamer-bound ones. Macroscopic homogeneity of the reacting media is proved by dynamic light scattering from solutions containing the polymer mixture and its components. In general, the studied process can be considered as a new way to unsaturated multiblock statistical copolymers. Their structure can be controlled by the amount of catalyst, mixture composition, and reaction time. It is remarkable that this goal can be achieved with a catalyst that is not suitable for ring-opening metathesis copolymerization of norbornene and cis-cyclooctene because of their substantially different monomer reactivities.

Polycarbosilanes Based on Silicon-Carbon Cyclic Monomers

This review is devoted to analysis of the scientific data concerning polycarbosilanes and some of their functional derivatives, primarily, published in the last ten years. The scope is limited to highly molecular weight products of the above-mentioned type, prepared via polymerization of cyclic monomers as the most effective and flexible synthetic approach. The chapter consists of two main parts: heterochain and carbochain polycarbosilanes. It includes description of ring-opening polymerization (ROP) via rupture of endocyclic Si–C bonds in strained silacarbocycles, ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) via rupture of endocyclic C = C bond in silylcycloolefins, and vinyl type addition polymerization (AP) of silylnorbornenes. The review pays much attention to structure and physical chemical properties of the obtained polymers as well as possible ways for their applications. The mechanisms of some polymerization processes are also discussed.

Synthesis and metathesis polymerization of 5,5-Bis(trimethylsilyl)norbornene-2

Abstract5,5-Bis(trimethylsilyl)norbornene-2 was synthesized in a yield of 60% via the scheme of diene condensation of cyclopentadiene with 1,1-bis(trimethylsilyl)ethylene and subsequent methylation of the resulting adduct with methyllithium. Its metathesis polymerization was first performed on W and Ru catalysts with yields of up to 98%. The structure of the new polymer was determined by means of the NMR and IR techniques. The tungsten catalyst makes it possible to prepare the polymer with a 40% amount of trans-double bonds, whereas the ruthenium catalyst is more selective and yields the polymer that contains almost 100% trans-double bonds. A high glass transition temperature as compared to other silicon-substituted metathesis polynorbornenes (196–203°C) indicates a high rigidity of the polymer chain and suggests that the polymer will have good gas-separation properties.

Gas-transport properties of epoxidated metathesis polynorbornenes

The effect of postpolymerization epoxidation of metathesis polynorbornenes on their gas-transport behavior is studied. For two polymers, unsubstituted polynorbornene and poly(trimethylsilylnorbornene), postpolymerization modification via double bonds is implemented by epoxidation under the action of m-chloroperbenzoic acid to high conversions (95–100%). For initial polymers and their epoxidation products, the permeability and diffusion coefficients are measured and the solubility coefficients are estimated. It is shown that, for both initial polymers, functionalization leads to a marked reduction in permeability (by a factor of 2–10) and diffusion coefficients (by a factor of 3–10); simultaneously, the separation factors increase by a factor of 2–6. Although for all gases the solubility coefficients decrease as a result of epoxidation, the coefficients of CO2 solubility in both epoxidated polymers increase. This effect may be explained by specific interactions of a СО2 molecule possessing the quadrupole moment with С–О–С bonds appearing in a polymer.