Probing the tacticity of ring-opened metathesis polymers of norbornene and norbornadiene diesters by NMR spectroscopy

This chapter summarizes the various NMR experiments that were applied to probe the main stereochemical features of polymers prepared by ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of 2,3-dicarboalkoxynorbornadienes and 2,3-dicarboalkoxynorbornenes catalyzed by the dichloro ruthenium arene dimer (RuCl2(p-cymene))2 in the presence of trimethylsilyldiazomethane (TMSD). Direct spectroscopic methods based on the examination of cross-coupling peaks in polymers derived from optically active monomers (1H COSY NMR) and indirect methods based on the analysis of the hydrogenated derivatives of unsaturated parent polyolefins (1H and 13C NMR) led to the same conclusion. They both showed that high trans, highly isotactic polymers were formed using the ruthenium-arene catalyst precursor.