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Updated: Jun 21, 2025

Depolymerizable Olefinic Polymers Based on Fused-Ring Cyclooctene Monomers
Published on: December 16, 2022
Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization of Butyl Substituted trans-Cyclooctenes
Wesley S Farrell1,2, Kathryn L Beers1,2
1Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, ǂ Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States.
Abstract:
The synthesis and ring-opening metathesis polymerization of highly-strained 3- and 1-butyl-trans-cyclooctenes was investigated with the goal of quickly preparing regioregular polymers with narrow molar mass distributions, which could serve as precursors for high precision short-chain branched polyethylene. 3-butyl-trans-cyclooctene was unable to be polymerized in a regioregular manner, however 1-butyl-trans-cyclooctene did yield regioregular product, although the dispersities were higher than expected. Investigation by NMR provided evidence that the nature of the propagating alkylidene is likely non-uniform throughout the course of the reaction, leading to the broadened molar mass distribution.
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