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Updated: Jan 29, 2026

Synthesis and Exfoliation of Discotic Zirconium Phosphates to Obtain Colloidal Liquid Crystals
Published on: May 25, 2016
Investigation of a zirconium compound for redox switchable ring opening polymerization
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA. pld@chem.ucla.edu.
Abstract:
A zirconium compound, (salfen)Zr(OiPr)2 (salfen = N,N'-bis(2,4-di-tert-butylphenoxy)-1,1'-ferrocenediimine), was tested as a redox switchable catalyst for the ring opening polymerization of cyclic esters and epoxides. Different activities were observed in the reduced and oxidized state, and an orthogonal switch on monomer activities could be achieved. Diblock and triblock copolymers were synthesized using an in situ redox switch of the catalyst oxidation state.
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