1. 600 Forbes Avenue, 308 Mellon Hall, Pittsburgh, PA 15282
Development of Transition Metal Catalysts for Radical (Co)Polymerization of Nonpolar Olefins and Polar Monomers
Tomislav Pintauer, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Duquesne University
600 Forbes Avenue, 308 Mellon Hall, Pittsburgh, PA 15282
The main objective of our project is to rationally develop catalytic systems that can be used in radical copolymerization of olefins and polar monomers based on changing reactivity ratios through complexation of the monomers with copper(I) complexes.
Copper(I) complexes with bidentate nitrogen based ligands and weakly coordinated BPh4- counterion have been synthesized and characterized. In all three complexes, the counterion was coordinated to the copper(I) center through two  bonds of phenyl rings. This is the first example that such coordination has been observed in transition metal complexes. Coordinatively unsaturated distorted tetrahedral copper(I) complexes are excellent candidates for radical copolymerization of nonpolar olefins and polar monomers. In the presence of alkenes, these complexes readily loose coordinated counterion to form well defined [CuI(NN)(-M)][BPh4] complexes, which are excellent candidates for further radical chemistry.
CuI(NN)(BPh4) Complexes