title: Isoprene-styrene chain shuttling copolymerization mediated by a lanthanide half-sandwich complex and a lanthanidocene: straightforward access to a new type of thermoplastic elastomers.
abstract: A lanthanide half-sandwich complex and a ansa lanthanidocene have been assessed for isoprene-styrene chain shuttling copolymerization with n-butylethylmagnesium (BEM). In the presence of 1 equiv BEM, a fully amorphous multiblock microstructure of soft and hard segments is achieved. The microstructure consists of poly(isoprene-co-styrene) blocks, with hard blocks rich in styrene and soft blocks rich in isoprene. The composition of the blocks and the resulting glass transition temperatures (Tg ) can be easily modified by changing the feed and/or the relative amount of the catalysts, highlighting a new class of thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) with tunable transition temperatures. The materials self-organize into nanostructures in the solid state.
authors.affiliation: Unité de Catalyse et Chemie du Solide, CNRS, University Lille 1, Science and Technology, 59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq (France).
authors.forename: Andreia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Valente
authors.forename: Gregory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Stoclet
authors.forename: Fanny
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bonnet
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mortreux
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Visseaux
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zinck
keywords: block copolymers; chain shuttling; coordinative chain transfer polymerization; copolymerization; lanthanides