Living copolymerization of ethylene with 4-methyl-1-pentene by an α-diimine Ni(ii)/Et2AlCl catalyst: synthesis of diblock copolymersvia sequential monomer addition

Abstract

Living copolymerization of ethylene (E) with 4-methyl-1-pentene (4M1P) by an α-diimine Ni(II) complex and Et₂AlCl as an activator is reported. The living nature of the polymerization was exploited to prepare poly(E-co-4M1P)-block-poly(1-hexene) with low polydispersity index (M_w/M_n ≈ 1.20) and qualitatively good elastomeric properties.