The heterogenization of homogeneous metal complexes on solid supports presents an efficient strategy for bridging homogeneous catalysts with industrially-preferred heterogeneous catalysts; however, a series of drawbacks restrict their implementation in olefin polymerization, particularly for copolymerization with polar comonomers. In this contribution, we report an ionic anchoring strategy that is highly versatile, generally applicable to different systems, and enables strong catalyst-support interactions while tolerating various polar functional groups. In addition to greatly enhanced polymerization properties, the supported catalysts achieved higher comonomer incorporation than their unsupported counterparts. This strategy enabled efficient polymerization at high temperatures at large scale and great control over product morphology, and the facile synthesis of polyolefin composites. More importantly, the dispersion of different fillers in the polyolefin matrix produced great material properties even at low composite loadings. It is expected that this strategy will find applications in different catalytic systems and the synthesis of advanced engineering materials.
Stimuli‐responsive polymers have found applications as shape‐memory materials, optical switches, and sensors, but the installation of these responsive properties in non‐polar and inert polyolefins is challenging. In this contribution, a series of spiropyran (SP)‐based comonomers are synthesized and copolymerized with ethylene or ethylene/cyclic monomers. In addition to great mechanical and surface properties, these functionalized polyolefins responded to light, heat, and force, which induced changes in the polymer structure to transmit color or mechanical signals. These interesting responsive properties are also installed in a series of commercial polyolefin materials through reactive extrusion, making the scalable production of these materials possible.
2 July 2024 in Journal of the American Chemical Society