Ultrafast Monomer Emulsified Aqueous Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization for the Synthesis of Water-Soluble Polynorbornenes with Precise Structure

Wangmeng Hou; Xiuzhe Yin; Yao Chen; Jianzhong Du; Yongming Chen; Yi Shi

doi:10.1021/acsmacrolett.3c00284

Ultrafast Monomer Emulsified Aqueous Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization for the Synthesis of Water-Soluble Polynorbornenes with Precise Structure

ACS Macro Lett. 2023 Jun 20;12(6):794-800. doi: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.3c00284. Epub 2023 May 25.

Authors

Wangmeng Hou¹, Xiuzhe Yin¹, Yao Chen¹, Jianzhong Du², Yongming Chen¹, Yi Shi¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Materials Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory for Polymeric Composite and Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
² Department of Polymeric Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 201804, China.

PMID: 37227140
DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.3c00284

Abstract

Ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) in an aqueous medium provides an important environmentally friendly platform for the preparation of water-soluble polymeric materials. However, it is challenging to keep high synthetic efficacy and good control over molecular weight and distribution due to the inevitable catalyst decomposition in an aqueous medium. To meet this challenge, we propose a facile monomer emulsified aqueous ROMP (ME-ROMP) by injecting a tiny amount of a CH₂Cl₂ solution of the Grubbs' third-generation catalyst (G3) into the aqueous solution of norbornene (NB) monomers without deoxygenation. Driven by the minimization of interfacial tension, the water-soluble monomers could serve as surfactants with hydrophobic NB moieties inserted into the CH₂Cl₂ droplets of G3, leading to the significantly suppressed catalyst decomposition and accelerated polymerization. The ME-ROMP is confirmed to be living with an ultrafast polymerization rate, near quantitative initiation and monomer conversion, for the highly efficient and ultrafast synthesis of well-defined water-soluble polynorbornenes with various compositions and architectures.