A Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization (ROMP) Approach to Carboxyl- and Amino-Terminated Telechelic Poly(butadiene)s

Abstract

Over the past several years there has been an increasing interest in the synthesis of polymers with low glass transition temperatures and reactive functional groups at each end of a given polymeric chain. They have found use as agents capable of modifying the thermal and mechanical properties of condensation polymers, in the formation of polymeric networks, and as components in the synthesis of block copolymers. Telechelic hydroxyl, amino, and carboxyl poly(butadiene)s (PBD)s are excellent examples of such polymers that have been employed in the above applications. While these telechelic polymers can be synthesized through the radical or anionic polymerization of 1,3-butadiene using the appropriate initiating or terminating agents, there are several drawbacks. The average number of functional groups per polymer chain (F_n) can deviate greatly from 2 and depends heavily on experimental conditions, which are often demanding. Furthermore, varying amounts of 1,2-linkages are introduced during the polymerization, limiting the elastomeric potential of the resulting polymer.

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