Precision polymer synthesfs via olefin metathesis polymerization

The recent development of olefin metathesis catalysts has expanded the scope of olefin metathesis polymerization and the polymerization method has already been a popular topic in the area of the polymer synthesis. Since the recent olefin metathesis catalysts (e.g., Grubbs' catalyst) show high functional group tolerance and high catalyst activity, olefin metathesis polymerization has emerged as a powerful tool for synthesizing polymers possessing functional groups as well as controlled molecular architectures. Particularly, olefin metathesis polymerization allows synthesizing a polymer exhibiting a quite unique molecular structure and having precisely placed side-chain branches. This article provides a brief summary of the investigators' reports on olefin metathesis chemistry. In addition to tracing the historical development of metathesis polymerization, this article covers the fundamental aspects of the method including both acyclic diene metathesis polymerization (ADMET) and ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP). Special attention is paid to the synthesis of polymers having precisely placed side- chain branches via the metathesis polymerization, ADMET and ROMP.