Synthesis of norbornene derivatives and their polymers via ROMP of norbornene derivatives

Dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) is a by-product resulting from the ethylene industry, which is high yield and underused in China. A technical route of producing valuable products—norbornene derivatives and their polymers from DCPD—was proposed and studied in this research. 5-Norbornene-2,3-dicarboxylic anhydride, a downstream product of DCPD, was employed as starting material to synthesize norbornene derivatives. Norbornene derivatives, 5-norbornene-2,3-dicarboxylic acid dimethyl ester and 5-norbornene-2,3-dicarboxylic acid diphenylethyl esters, as well as their polymers have broad application prospects in many areas. Ring-opening metathesis polymerization was employed as the polymerization process, and the polymers/copolymers of norbornene derivatives were obtained successfully. The polymerization process of norbornene derivatives was investigated in detail, from which the method for controlling molecular weights and decomposition temperatures of norbornene derivatives copolymers were developed. Till now, the route of generating valuable norbornene derivatives from DCPD was completed finally.