Catalytic Control of Architecture and Properties of Butadiene Block Copolymers

Catalytic polymerizations of 1,3-butadiene into essentially 1,4 elastomeric polymers are by now pretty well-mastered processes. It is the purpose of this paper to demonstrate the still very vivid interest in that backbone. It is shown how a precise control of the initiation and selectivity of butadiene block polymerization reactions allows the molecular engineering of a variety of new heterophase materials. Typical examples are presented to illustrate the main potentialities of these copolymers.