Novel monodentate phosphine modified Pd(acac)2/BF3OEt2 catalyst system for the synthesis of poly(5-alkyl-2-norbornene)s

Pd(acac)2 + 2PPh3 + 25BF3OEt2 catalyst system has been employed for the polymerization of 5-alkyl-2-norbornenes. The activity of the catalyst system is comparable to that of most active late transition metal catalysts described in the literature. The introduction of a phosphine to the system switched the carbocationic polymerization mechanism to the coordination Ziegler-Natta polymerization.