Functional (co)polymers from carbenes: scope, mechanism & polymer properties

Polymerization of carbenes is a valuable alternative to traditional olefin polymerization with regard to the formation of high molecular-weight functional copolymers in a stereoregular way. The versatility of this reaction with respect to different carbene precursors allows the formation of a large variation of functional polymers, that exhibit interesting material properties stemming from their 'secondary and tertiary structures'. Carbene polymerization is also suitable for obtaining functional polyolefin-like materials, either by copolymerization with ethene or by applying functional and non-functionalized carbenes, depending on the desired polymer microstructures. This emphasizes the potential of carbene polymerization in different areas of polymer chemistry.