Henkel Ag & Company, Kgaa

Alan M Kenwright

Ezat Khosravi

Zhanru Yu

Lois Hobson

David M Haigh

A ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) reaction is disclosed in which a cyclic alkene compound is subjected to ROMP using a ruthenium ROMP catalyst having heterocyclic ligands in the presence of a compound from which such ligands may be derived. The process includes the step of adding sufficient of an acyclic alkene having a carbon-carbon double bond capable of reacting with the catalytic metal moieties attached to the living end of each of the polymer chains generated in the ROMP reaction to end cap the polymer chains and to generate a olefin metathesis catalyst. The process includes reiterating the polymerization steps by adding further amounts of a cyclic alkene compound. The catalyst may be generated in situ from a precursor compound by the addition of a compound from which heterocyclic ligands may be derived by interaction with the precursor compound.

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Durham, United Kingdom

Alan M Kenwright