Synthesis of High Performance Cyclic Olefin Polymers (COPs) with Ester Group via Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization

Novel ester group functionalized cyclic olefin polymers (COPs) with high glass transition temperature, high transparency, good mechanical performance and excellent film forming ability have been achieved in this work via efficient ring-opening metathesis copolymerization of exo-1,4,4a,9,9a,10-hexahydro-9,10(1′,2′)-benzeno-l,4-methanoanthracene (HBM) and comonomers (5-norbornene-2-yl methylacetate (NMA), 5-norbornene-2-yl methyl 2-ethylhexanoate (NME) or 5-norbornene-2-yl methyldodecanoate (NMD)) utilizing the Grubbs first generation catalyst, Ru(CHPh)(Cl)2(PCy3)2 (Cy = cyclohexyl, G1), followed by hydrogenation of double bonds in the main chain. The fully hydrogenated copolymers were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance, FT-IR spectroscopy analysis, gel permeation chromatography, and thermo gravimetric analysis. Differential scanning calorimetry curves showed that the glass transition temperatures (Tg) linearly decreased with the increasing of comonomers content, which was easily controlled by changing feed ratios of HBM and comonomers. Static water contact angles tests indicate that hydrophilicity of copolymers can also be modulated by changing the comonomers incorporation. Additionally, the mechanical performances of copolymers were also investigated.