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Synfacts 2007(3): 0269-0269  
DOI: 10.1055/s-2007-968214
Synthesis of Materials and Unnatural Products
© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Poly(p-phenylene) via ‘Living’ Polymerization

Contributor(s): Timothy M. Swager, Anne J. McNeil
R. Miyakoshi, K. Shimono, A. Yokoyama, T. Yokozawa*
Kanagawa University, Yokohama, Japan
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Publication History

Publication Date:
20 February 2007 (online)

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Significance

Yokozawa and co-workers prepare a poly(p-phenylene) with narrow polydispersity and controlled molecular weight via nickel-catalyzed polymerization. The authors have previously reported a similar system for regioregular poly(3-hexyl)thiophene synthesis (T. Yokozawa and co-workers Macromolecules 2004, 37, 1169-1171). The procedure relies on the near quantitative Grignard metathesis reaction between i-PrMgCl and a dibromoarene to generate the monomer. Adding an equivalent of LiCl accelerated the polymerization and decreased the polydispersity. The authors propose that LiCl disrupts the monomer homo­aggregates. The molecular weight increased with subsequent monomer addition, confirming the chain-growth mechanism.