Homogeneous vs Heterogeneous Polymerization Catalysis Revealed by Single-Particle Fluorescence Microscopy

A high-sensitivity and high-resolution single-particle fluorescence microscopy technique differentiated between homogeneous and heterogeneous metathesis polymerization catalysis by imaging the location of the early stages of polymerization. By imaging single polymers and single crystals of Grubbs II, polymerization catalysis was revealed to be solely homogeneous rather than heterogeneous or both.