Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 26, 2026

Palladium N-Heterocyclic Carbene Complexes: Synthesis from Benzimidazolium Salts and Catalytic Activity in Carbon-carbon Bond-forming Reactions
Published on: July 30, 2017
Ethene/norbornene copolymerization with palladium(II) alpha-diimine catalysts: from ligand screening to discrete
Jens Kiesewetter1, Walter Kaminsky
1Institute of Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry, University of Hamburg, Bundesstrasse 45, Germany.
Abstract:
Sixteen palladium(II) alpha-diimine catalysts were investigated in a screening-like procedure for the copolymerization of ethene with norbornene. The resulting copolymers were characterized by (13)C NMR spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, gel permeation chromatography, and viscosimetry. The degree of incorporation of norbornene in the polymer chain is very high for most of the catalysts. To validate the results achieved in the screening, two catalysts, [[ArN=CHCH=NAr]Pd(Me)(CH(3)CN)]BAr(f) (4) (1 b'; Ar=2,6-Me(2)C(6)H(3), BAr(f) (4)=B[3,5-C(6)H(3)(CF(3))(2)](4)) and [[ArN=C(CH(3))C(CH(3))=NAr]Pd(Me)(CH(3)CN)]BAr(f) (4) (2 c'; Ar=2,6-iPr(2)C(6)H(3)), were synthesized as discrete catalytically active species, and their copolymerization behavior was investigated in detail. In agreement with the screening results, 1 b' incorporates norbornene much better in the polymer chain than ethene, a property that has no analogue in metallocene catalysts.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Olefin Metathesis Polymerization: Acyclic Diene Metathesis (ADMET)
Similar to cross-metathesis, ADMET also involves the formation of metallacyclobutane intermediate by [2+2] cycloaddition of one of the double bonds of a terminal diene with...
Olefin Metathesis Polymerization: Overview
Ruthenium-based Grubbs catalyst is the most commonly used catalyst for olefin metathesis polymerization. Grubbs catalyst consists of a...
Reduction of Alkenes: Asymmetric Catalytic Hydrogenation
The metal catalyst used can be either heterogeneous or homogeneous. When hydrogenation of an alkene generates a chiral center, a pair of enantiomeric products is expected to form. However, an enantiomeric excess of one of the products can be facilitated using an enantioselective reaction or an...
Ziegler–Natta Chain-Growth Polymerization: Overview
Olefin Metathesis Polymerization: Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization (ROMP)
Thermal Electrocyclic Reactions: Stereochemistry
Selection Rules: Thermal Activation
Conjugated systems containing an even number of π-electron pairs undergo a conrotatory ring closure. For example, thermal electrocyclization of (2E,4E)-2,4-hexadiene, a conjugated diene containing two π-electron pairs, gives trans-3,4-dimethylcyclobutene.

