DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF LIVING COO RDINATION POLYMERIZATION OFALLENE DERIVATIVES BY ALLYLNICKEL CATALYSTS

This article describes our recent works on the living coordination pol ymerization of allene derivatives by allylnickel catalysts. The polyme rization of alkoxyallenes by allylnickel catalysts proceeds via a livi ng process to give polymers with predictable molecular weights and nar row molecular weight distributions in excellent yields. The polymeriza tion was carried out with allylnickel complexes bearing various ligand s to figure out the clear effect on the polymer structures and the pol ymerization behavior. Similarly, allene derivatives bearing various su bstituents such as phenylallene, alkylallenes, allenylsulfide, allenyl pyrrolidone, allenyloxazolidone, esters of allenic acid, and macromono mers bearing allenyloxy end groups undertake the living polymerization . Macromolecular designs based on the living polymerization of allene derivatives (e.g., block copolymerizations) are also described.