Well-Controlled Living Polymerization of Phenylacetylenes in Water: Synthesis of Water-Soluble Stereoregular Telechelic Poly(phenylacetylene)s

Well-controlled living polymerization of water-soluble phenylacetylene derivatives in water was achieved for the first time using a multicomponent catalytic system consisting of [Rh(nbd)Cl](2), an aryl boronic acid, diphenylacetylene having carboxy groups, a tetraalkylammonium hydroxide, and a water-soluble triphenylphosphine. This catalytic system enables a direct synthesis of various water-soluble cis-stereoregular poly(phenylacetylene)s having a narrow molecular weight distribution, the molecular weight of which can be controlled by the initial feed ratio of the monomer to the catalyst. Moreover, the syntheses of water-soluble telechelic poly(phenylacetylene)s having various functional groups at both chain ends as well as a water-soluble block copolymer were achieved.