Polymers (Oct 2017)
A Single-Site Iron(III)-Salan Catalyst for Converting COS to Sulfur-Containing Polymers
Abstract
An iron(III) complex of tetradentate N,N′-disubstituted bis(aminophenoxide) (designated as salan, a saturated version of the corresponding salen ligand) with a sterically hindered organic base anchored on the ligand framework, can selectively mediate the conversion of carbonyl sulfide to sulfur-containing polymers by the copolymerization with epoxides. This single-site catalyst exhibits broad substrate scope, and the resultant copolymers have completely alternating structures. In addition, this catalyst is efficient in producing diblock copolymers, suggesting a living polymerization nature.
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