Investigations into Apopinene as a Biorenewable Monomer for Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization

The ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of apopinene is reported. We find that apopinene reacts with Ru-based metathesis catalysts to provide an all trans-polymer with a polydispersity index (PDI) as low as 1.6 and molecular weights in the 1100 to 15 600 g.mol(-1) range (9-127 monomer units). Because apopinene is readily prepared in one-step from myrtenal or two-steps from a-pinene, both of which are commercially available and naturally abundant, these studies indicate that apopinene might find future use as a new biorenewable precursor for the sustainable production of ROMP-based materials.