Controlled Pd(0)/t-Bu3P-catalyzed Suzuki cross-coupling polymerization of AB-type monomers with PhPd(t-Bu3P)I or Pd2(dba)3/t-Bu3P/ArI as the initiator

Hong-Hai Zhang; Chun-Hui Xing; Qiao-Sheng Hu

doi:10.1021/ja302745t

Controlled Pd(0)/t-Bu3P-catalyzed Suzuki cross-coupling polymerization of AB-type monomers with PhPd(t-Bu3P)I or Pd2(dba)3/t-Bu3P/ArI as the initiator

J Am Chem Soc. 2012 Aug 15;134(32):13156-9. doi: 10.1021/ja302745t. Epub 2012 Aug 3.

Authors

Hong-Hai Zhang¹, Chun-Hui Xing, Qiao-Sheng Hu

Affiliation

¹ Department of Chemistry, College of Staten Island and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, Staten Island, New York 10314, USA.

PMID: 22860802
DOI: 10.1021/ja302745t

Abstract

Controlled Pd(0)/t-Bu(3)P-catalyzed Suzuki cross-coupling polymerizations of AB-type monomers via the chain-growth mechanism with an ArPd(t-Bu(3)P)I complex as the initiator are described. ArPd(t-Bu(3)P)I complexes, either prepurified or generated in situ from Pd(2)(dba)(3)/t-Bu(3)P/ArI (dba = dibenzylideneacetone) without separation/purification, were found to be efficient initiators in general for the controlled Suzuki cross-coupling polymerization, with narrow polydispersity indexes (PDIs) of 1.13-1.35 being observed. The Pd(2)(dba)(3)/t-Bu(3)P/p-BrC(6)H(4)I combination was identified as a highly robust initiator system, with PDIs of ≤1.20 in general and as low as 1.13 being obtained. Higher number-average molecular weights (M(n)) were achieved without a significant increase in the PDI (from 1.14 for a polymer with a M(n) = 9500 to 1.20 for a polymer with M(n) = 31,400) by using a smaller amount of the Pd(2)(dba)(3)/t-Bu(3)P/p-BrC(6)H(4)I initiator in the polymerization.