Synthesis of novel bipyridyl ligands and application in preparation of polyketone

In this article, novel 2,2′‐bipyridyl derivatives were synthesized and the excellent bipyridyl ligands were chosen as catalyst to apply in the copolymerization of carbon monoxide (CO) and styrene (ST) to prepare polyketone. 4,4′‐Dicarboxyl‐2,2′‐bipyridine(4,4′‐dcpy) was synthesized by use of synthesized 4,4′‐dimethyl‐2,2′‐bipyridine(4,4′‐dmpy). The products (4,4′‐dmpy and 4,4′‐dcpy) were characterized by melting point, NMR, IR, GC‐MS, and elemental analysis. The effects of different ligands and various reaction conditions incuding the usage of ligand, p‐toluenesulfonic acid, solvent, p‐benzoquinone, the CO pressure, and reaction temperature on catalytic activity of the copolymerization were investigated. The catalytic activity of 4,4′‐dmpy, 4,4′‐dcpy and 2,2′‐bipyridine were compared. The results showed that the addition of the electron‐donating substituent can enhance catalytic activity, with the sequence as follows: 4,4′‐ dimethyl‐2,2′‐bipyridine > 2,2′‐bipyridine > 4, 4′‐carboxy 2,2′‐ bipyridine. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 000: 000–000, 2012