Synthesis of triblock copolymers (polyA poly butadiene polyA) via metathesis polymerization

A series of triblock copolymers of the type A-B-A were synthesized using tungsten chloride-anchored hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPBD) catalyst. Monomers like phenylacetylene (PA), norbornene (NBE), cyclooctadiene (COD), and cyclopentene (CP) were polymerized via metathesis pathway using this catalyst. The efficiency of this anchored catalyst in producing A-B-A triblock copolymers was explored and compared under the same experimental conditions like solvent system and reaction temperature. This anchored catalyst upon reaction with PA produced polyPA-block-polyBD-block-polyPA in high yield and with low polydispersity (pdi) compared to HTPBD. The formation of the triblock copolymers by this method was evinced by NMR, TGA, and GPC data as well as by delinking and inverse addition studies. All the cycloalkenes polymerized via ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) with the catalyst and yielded triblock copolymers. The mode of synthesis of triblocks could be construed as switching the mechanism of polymerization from radical to olefin metathesis. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.