Synthesis of new elastomers with controlled structures based on alkylene oxides, grafted by ROMP

Poly(propylene oxide-ran-allyl glycidyl ether) (PPO-AGE) copolymers have been prepared using as initiating system an alkyl aluminum compound, controlled amounts of water and different organic compounds that act as cocatalysts, e.g. ethers, diols, phosphines, salicylic acid derivatives, and organozinc compounds. Among the investigated catalysts the most productive systems showed to be the ternary systems derived from triisobutylaluminum (TIBA) and water having Zn(acac)(2) as a third component. These copolymers have subsequently been grafted by ringopening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) with cyclooctene in the presence of Grubbs first-generation ruthenium (Ru) catalyst to produce new comblike copolymers.