| The primary theme of this thesis is the copolymerization of polar and non-polar monomers. On the one hand, chapter 2 and chapter 3 focus on the copolymerization via a free radical polymerization route. In chapter 2, I compare the effects of various Lewis and Bronsted acids on the 2,2'-azobis(isobutyronitrile) (AIBN) initiated (meth)acrylates/olefin copolymerization, and find a simple way to assess an acid's efficacy in promoting (meth)acrylate (co)polymerizations. In chapter 3, I continue to explore the potential of Lewis acid catalysts for the (meth)acrylates/olefin copolymerization by calculating the monomer reactivity ratios. Chapter 4, on the other hand, deals with late transition metal catalyzed (co)polymerizations. The synthesis of two asymmetric palladium complexes and their activities for polymerization are presented. On a different note, chapter 5 investigates a simple nickel system that oligomerizes ethylene and has high butene productivity. The final chapter, chapter 6, describes the chain transfer effects of adding olefin into the nickel(II) acetylacetonate/methylaluminoxane (Ni(acac)2/MAO) catalyzed methyl methacrylate (MMA) polymerizations. |
