Rare earth–transition metal cooperativity in the ring-opening polymerisation of tetrahydrofuran

Abstract

A synergistic RECl₃/[Cu(CH₃CN)₄]PF₆ catalyst system enables the controlled, ring-opening polymerisation of THF at room temperature without the need for any additional initiators. High-molecular-weight PTHF (M_n = 209 kDa, Đ = 1.6) is obtained at low catalyst loadings, with tunable chain lengths via a targeted ligand addition.