New palladium-organic catalysts created in Russia will make it possible to synthesize polymers with heterogeneous composition. This was reported by the press service of the RNF.
Catalysts are substances or components that support a chemical reaction but are not involved in it. As a rule, they are used to accelerate chemical processes or make one of them possible. Often, catalytic complexes are built around metal ions, and the substances surrounding them are called ligands.
Scientists from the AV Topchiev Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis of the Russian Academy of Sciences and colleagues from other universities have invented a new catalyst for creating polymers. It is based on palladium ions surrounded by ligand groups. For example, a nitrogen-containing ligand such as an umbrella coats the central atom, making the complex resistant to oxygen and air humidity. The mobile ligands of the complex, whose role can be played by the solvent or carbon monoxide molecules, separate from the palladium at the right moment, allowing the monomer to approach the central atom and then bind the monomers together. .
The researchers synthesized 11 similar compounds by modifying the fragments in the structure of the catalysts, thereby regulating their properties. All resulting complexes did not require additional cocatalysts. Due to the high activity, the consumption of the proposed compounds was extremely economical, while the polymerization efficiency reached 94%.
The authors hope that their invention will make it possible to produce polymers at lower cost, higher quality and with less raw material consumption.
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