Metallocene catalysts for the ring-opening co-polymerisation of epoxides and cyclic anhydrides

Shaw, Matthew S., Bates, Morgan R., Jones, Matthew D. and Ward, Benjamin D. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1406-5940 2022. Metallocene catalysts for the ring-opening co-polymerisation of epoxides and cyclic anhydrides. Polymer Chemistry 13 (22) , pp. 3315-3324. 10.1039/D2PY00335J

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Abstract

The ring-opening co-polymerisation (ROCOP) of epoxides and cyclic anhydrides is a versatile route to new polyesters. The vast number of monomers that are readily available means that an effectively limitless number of unique polymeric materials can be prepared using a common synthetic route, thereby paving the way to polymers that are more recyclable and could be used in applications that currently lie exclusively within the remit of polyolefins. Metallocene complexes [Cp2MCl2] (M = Ti, Zr, Hf, Cp = η5-C5H5) are known to be excellent pre-catalysts for olefin polymerisation and yet have not been reported for ROCOP, despite their supreme pedigree in the polymerisation realm. Herein, we report the first application of [Cp2MCl2] as catalysts for the ROCOP of epoxides and anhydrides and show that they are effective catalysts for this reaction. The catalytic performances are good with standard epoxides such as cyclohexene oxide but are excellent with more challenging sterically demanding limonene oxide, and this therefore represents a highly effective catalyst system for the preparation of bio-derived recyclable polymers.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Chemistry
Additional Information:	This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence.
Publisher:	Royal Society of Chemistry
ISSN:	1759-9954
Funders:	EPSRC
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	27 June 2022
Date of Acceptance:	13 May 2022
Last Modified:	27 May 2023 05:55
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/150818

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