A New Synthesis Strategy on Styrene-Butadiene Di-Block Copolymer Containing High cis -1,4 Unit Via Transfer of Anionic to Coordination Polymerization.

A novel synthesis strategy on styrene-butadiene di-block copolymer (PS- b -PB) with high cis -1,4 unit content was developed, based on a transfer technique from anionic to coordination polymerization. Firstly, the styrene monomer was initiated by n -butyllithium (Li) utilizing anionic polymerization at 50 °C, which resulted in a macromolecular alkylating initiator (PSLi). Secondly, PSLi was aged with nickel naphthenate (Ni) and boron trifluoride etherate (B) for obtaining a complex catalyst system (Ni/PSLi/B). Then, Ni/PSLi/B was applied to initiate the butadiene (Bd) polymerization. Following this new strategy, a series of PS- b -PBs were successfully synthesized. The experimental results indicated that under the molar ratio combination of [Li]/[Ni] = 5 and [B]/[Li] = 1, styrene-butadiene di-block copolymers could be easily achieved with high cis -1,4 unit content (>97%) and controlled molecular weight as well as narrow molecular weight distribution (M _w /M _n < 1.5). Furthermore, the copolymer's block ratio could also be effectively controlled by controlling the two components' monomer feed ratio.