ABSTRACT

The metathesis reaction was soon used for the polymerization of cycloolefms to give novel unsaturated polymers. As shown in Eq. (1), the double bond is retained in the reaction. The polymerization of olefins containing 4-15 carbon atoms and exhibiting certain ring strains has been published. Cyclohexene, whose ring is energetically balanced, cannot be polymerized. [The metathetic formation of oligomers of cyclohexene at very low temperatures has been observed (Patton and McCarthy, 1985).] The polymerization takes place as an equilibrium reaction according to Eq. (2):

Polyalkenylene

The oligomer content The molecular weight distribution The macrostructure of the polymers, especially the contents of cyclic and acyclic polymer

forms The microstructure, in particular the proportion of cis and trans double bonds.