Synthesis of polyketone catalyzed by Pd/C catalyst

In the present work, polyketone (STCO) was successfully synthesized by use of carbon monoxide (CC) and styrene (ST) in the presence of Pd/C (5.4wt%), bipyridine and p-toluenesulfonic acid. The final products were characterized by infrared Spectroscopy (IR), (13)C nuclear magnetic resonance (13C NMR), elemental analysis, thermogravimetry (TG), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The effects of various reaction conditions, including Pd/C catalyst usage, ligands, p-toulenesulfonic acid, reaction temperature and reaction time were investigated in detail, and the reusability of Pd/C catalyst in the copolymerization of CO and ST was also probed. It is found that the Pd/C catalyst shows higher catalytic activity and reusability in the copolymerization of CO and ST. it can be reused for 12 times with the highest catalytic activity of 1255.17 STCO/(g Pd h). The molecular weights and polydispersity index of the polyketone were as follows: Mn = 10,700, Mw = 19,079 and Mw/Mn = 1.78, respectively. (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V.