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Updated: May 1, 2026

Synthesis of Programmable Main-chain Liquid-crystalline Elastomers Using a Two-stage Thiol-acrylate Reaction
Published on: January 19, 2016
Isoprene-styrene chain shuttling copolymerization mediated by a lanthanide half-sandwich complex and a
Andreia Valente1, Gregory Stoclet, Fanny Bonnet
1Unité de Catalyse et Chemie du Solide, CNRS, University Lille 1, Science and Technology, 59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq (France).
Abstract:
A lanthanide half-sandwich complex and a ansa lanthanidocene have been assessed for isoprene-styrene chain shuttling copolymerization with n-butylethylmagnesium (BEM). In the presence of 1 equiv BEM, a fully amorphous multiblock microstructure of soft and hard segments is achieved. The microstructure consists of poly(isoprene-co-styrene) blocks, with hard blocks rich in styrene and soft blocks rich in isoprene. The composition of the blocks and the resulting glass transition temperatures (Tg ) can be easily modified by changing the feed and/or the relative amount of the catalysts, highlighting a new class of thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) with tunable transition temperatures. The materials self-organize into nanostructures in the solid state.
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