ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Asymmetric polymerisation of substituted phenylacetylene using chiral Rh(2,5-norbornadiene)(L-proline) catalyst

Hong-Ge Jia, Yong-Qiang Shi, Li-Qun Ma, Ya-Zhen Wang, Yu Zang, and Ji-Jun Peng

College of Materials Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Polymeric Composition and Modification, Qiqihar University, Wenhua street 42, Qiqihar, 161006, China

E-mail: maliqun6166@163.com

Abstract: The Rh(nbd)(L-proline) (nbd = 2,5-norbornadiene) catalyst was synthesised with L-proline as ligand. The achiral monomer phenylacetylene, having two hydroxyl groups and a dodecyl group (DoDHPA), was polymerised for the first time using an isolated chiral Rh(nbd)(L-proline) as catalyst to afford polymers of Mr of 28.5 × 10⁴ and 36.2 × 10⁴. The resulting polymers exhibited the Cotton effect at wavelengths assignable to the main chain, indicating that the polymers adopted one-handed helical conformation. These findings suggest that the rhodium complex with chiral amine may be the true active species for helix-sense-selective polymerisation (HSSP) of DoDHPA.

Keywords: asymmetric polymerisation – phenylacetylene – rhodium complex – L-proline

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1515/chempap-2015-0075

Chemical Papers 69 (5) 756–760 (2015)