Polymerization of Norbornene with CoCl 2 and Pyridine Bisimine Cobalt( II ) Complexes Activated with MAO

Addition polymerization of norbornene was performed with several pyridine bis(imine) cobalt dichloride complexes activated with methylaluminoxane (MAO), first described for ethylene polymerization. For the first time, norbornene was also polymerized with CoCl 2 associated to MAO. The influence of several reaction parameters has been investigated. Quite different behavior was observed compared with ethylene polymerization. Moreover, the copolymerization of ethylene and norbornene with these complexes was not possible but led to a mixture of both homopolymers. The pyridine bis(imine) cobalt dichloride complexes used in this study. magnified image The pyridine bis(imine) cobalt dichloride complexes used in this study.