Catalysis of ring‐opening and vinyl polymerizations by dicobaltoctacarbonyl

Abstract

Abstract In the presence of SiH containing cocatalysts, dicobaltoctacarbonyl has been found to very efficiently catalyze the ring‐opening polymerization of cyclic ethers, especially epoxides, as well as certain vinyl monomers. The reaction conditions employed are very similar to those used in Co 2 (CO) 8 catalyzed hydrogenation and hydrosilylation reactions. Detailed investigations have been carried out to elucidate the nature of the active species for this catalytic system. A cationic mechanism is proposed based on the experimental results of those investigations.