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Updated: Sep 19, 2025

Photogeneration of N-Heterocyclic Carbenes: Application in Photoinduced Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization
Published on: November 29, 2018
Linking Metallacycle Transfer with Ring-Opening Metathesis to Generate Polyacetylenes of Unprecedented Structure
Abhishek V Muralidharan1, Michael J Ferguson1, Eric Rivard1
1Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, 11227 Saskatchewan Dr, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2G2, Canada.
Abstract:
A hafnium-based bicyclic precursor (COT-2B-Hf) has been prepared that enables tandem Hf/E metallacycle transfer (E = main group element) and the ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of cyclooctatetraene (COT) units to generate a new family of structurally unique polyacetylenes. Highlights from this work include a tellurophene-grafted polyacetylene, poly-COT-2B-Te, and a polyacetylene with unsaturated vinyl side chains, poly-COT-2B-vinyl. The resulting polymers can be processed into films that yield optical band gaps as low as 1.6 eV, representing promising new architectures for the optoelectronics community.
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