REGIOSELECTIVE COPOLYMERIZATION OF 5-VINYL-2-NORBORNENE WITH ETHYLENEUSING ZIRCONOCENE-METHYLALUMINOXANE CATALYSTS - A FACILE ROUTE TO FUNCTIONAL POLYOLEFINS

Copolymerization of ethylene with 5-vinyl-2-norbornene (VNB) using the dicyclopentadienylzirconium dichloride/methylaluminoxane (zirconocene /MAO) catalyst system has been shown to occur with regioselective inse rtion of the endocyclic double bond of VNB into the copolymer chain, l eaving the exocyclic vinyl double bond as a pendant unsaturation. The pendant vinyl group in the copolymer can be readily converted to the h ydroxy/epoxy group with complete conversion under mild reaction condit ions, giving rise to the corresponding functionalized copolymers. The copolymers (parent and functionalized) have been characterized using I R, NMR, TGA, DSC, and intrinsic viscosity measurements.