The application of polymer-bound carbonylcobalt(0) species in linker chemistry and catalysis.

Carbonylcobalt(0) species have been used as linkers between alkynes and a polymer support for the first time. The alkynes may be loaded indirectly onto a phosphine functionalised polymer via their hexacarbonyldicobalt(0) complex, or directly onto a cobalt coated polymer. The alkynes have been released either as alkynes, thus providing a traceless method of immobilising alkynes, or by reaction with an alkene to generate a cyclopentenone via the Pauson-Khand reaction. The cobalt coated polymers produced during this study were shown to catalyse the Pauson-Khand reaction.