Study of ligand substituent effects on the rate and stereoselectivity of lactide polymerization using aluminum salen-type initiators.

A series of aluminum salen-type complexes [where salen is N,N'-bis(salicylaldimine)-1,2-ethylenediamine] bearing ligands that differ in their steric and electronic properties have been synthesized and investigated for the polymerization of rac-lactide. X-ray crystal structures on key precatalysts reveal metal coordination geometries intermediate between trigonal bipyramidal and square-based pyramidal. Both the phenoxy substituents and the backbone linker have a significant influence over the polymerization.

The first example of palladium catalysed non-perfectly alternating copolymerisation of ethene and carbon monoxide.

Non-alternating ethene-CO copolymerisation is catalysed by a new series of [P-O]Pd catalysts based on o-alkoxy derivatives of diphenylphosphinobenzene sulfonic acid.

Palladium catalysed copolymerisation of ethene with alkylacrylates: polar comonomer built into the linear polymer chain.

Copolymerisation of ethene and alkylacrylates is catalysed by palladium modified with di(2-methoxyphenyl)phosphinobenzene-2-sulfonic acid (DOPPBS); a linear polymer is produced in which acrylate units are incorporated into the polyethylene backbone.