High molecular weight poly(1-oxo-trimethylene) solution obtained by the catalytic copolymerization of CO with ethene in phenol-H2O as a solvent

The CO-ethene copolymerization, catalyzed by Pd(II)-diphosphine complexes, affords to the perfectly alternate poly(1-oxo-trimethylene), a high-performance thermoplastic with interesting physical and chemical properties [1]. The catalysis is efficiently carried out in methanol where the Pd(II) precursors are soluble while the polymer is insoluble [1]. As a consequence of this, during the reaction the Pd(II) intermediates, bonded with the growing polymer chain, precipitate after insertion of only a few monomers units and the polymer growth continues through a liquid-solid heterogeneous catalysis. We propose the homogeneous CO-ethene copolymerization carried out in phenol-H2O as a solvent and the influence of such a solvent on the molecular weight and on the productivity have been investigated.