SYNTHESIS OF POTENTIAL HYBRID CATALYSTS UPON COORDINATION OF BARE PALLADIUM(II) WITH CROSSLINKED MACROMOLECULAR NITRILES - CATALYTIC DIMERIZATION OF METHYL ACRYLATE

Crosslinked copolymers of cyanoethyl acrylate appear to be good ligands towards ‘Pd2+, in nitromethane. Thus, reaction of [Pd(NC-Me)4]2+ with macromolecular nitriles allows the transfer of the metal centre from an ‘ordinary’ coordination sphere to an unconventional one, i.e. nitrile groups pendant from polymeric backbones. The macromolecular complexes obtained appear to maintain the catalytic ability of [Pd(NC-Me)4]2+ in the dimerization of methyl acrylate in nitromethane. However, the sensitivity of the hybrid catalyst to traces of water turns out to be a limiting factor in its activity and re-usability.