Development of Efficient Molecular Catalysts for Efficient Olefin Polymerization/Dimerization, New Sustainable Advanced Polymeric Materials

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21H01942
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 33020:Synthetic organic chemistry-related
• Research Institution: Tokyo Metropolitan University
• Principal Investigator: NOMURA Kotohiro 東京都立大学, 理学研究科, 教授 (20304165)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 有機金属化学 / 合成化学 / 触媒設計 / 前周期遷移金属錯体触媒 / 精密重合 / オレフィンメタセシス / 集積型機能材料

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The project aims to design efficient molecular that enable synthesis of new polymers that cannot be prepared by conventional catalysts. The project also aims to design super-efficient catalysts for selective olefin oligomerization. Through this project period, development of new thermally robust, efficient vanadium and niobium catalysts for ring opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) have been achieved. These catalysts not only display high activities at high temperature, but also exhibit high cis/trans specificity, tacticity in the ROMP. Moreover, stereospecific synthesis of bottlebrush ROMP polymers has been succeeded for the first time.
Successful syntheses of polyolefins by ethylene copolymerization with biobased limonene, beta-pinene, myrcene and isoprene have also been demonstrated by using half-titanocene catalysts. Various new amorphous cyclic olefin copolymers including effect of cyclic olefins toward thermal properties have also been demonstrated.

Free Research Field

有機金属化学・分子触媒化学・合成化学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

遷移金属触媒によるオレフィンの配位重合やエチレンの多量化は化学産業における基幹技術で、高性能触媒の開発が重要・有用と広く認識されている。
本課題を通じて、今迄合成不可能であった植物資源（植物油）からの機能性ポリオレフィンの創製や集積型高分子機能材料（bottlebrush polymer）の立体特異的精密合成がはじめて可能となった。この成功の鍵は独自の高性能分子触媒の設計・創製で、本課題の成果が今後の環境調和型社会の構築に向けた重要・有用技術となる可能性は高い。