Polymerization of p-Chlorophenyl Propargyl Ether by Molybdenum- and Tungsten- Based Catalysts

The Polymerization of p-chlorophenyl propargyl ether (CPE) was carried out using various transition metal catalysts. The catalytic activity of $MoCl_{5}$-based catalysts was greater than that of $WCl_6$-based catalysts. $MoCl_5$ alone and $MoCl_{5}$-cocatalyst systems polymerized CPE very effectively to give a high yield of poly(CPE). In most cases, the polymer yield was quantitative and the average molecular weight $({\bar{M}}n)$ was in the range of 9,000 and 17,000. The NMR, IR, UV-visible spectra indicated that the present poly(CPE) has a linear conjugated polyene structure having p-chlorophenyl oxymethylene substituent. The poly(CPE) was mostly dark-brown colored powder and was completely soluble in various organic solvents such as chloroform, methylene chloride, THF, chlorobenzene, etc. The X-ray diffraction analysis indicated that the present poly(CPE) is amorphous.