The stereosequence distribution of the “atactic” and “isotactic” fractions of a polypropylene sample made with a MgCl2-supported catalyst was determined by means of high-resolution 13C NMR and analyzed in terms of statistical models of increasing sophistication. Two-site models, including the one normally used for the interpretation of “routine” 13C NMR data at pentad level, were shown to be inconsistent with the much finer high-resolution data. A good agreement between experimental and calculated distributions could be obtained only in terms of a three-site model, describing each fraction as a mixture of highly isotactic, weakly isotactic (“isotactoid”) and syndiotactic sequences. According to such model, the two fractions comprise the same three building blocks (the configuration of the three different types of stereosequences being almost invariant) and differ merely in their relative amounts (which indicates a stereoblock nature). The correlations with the physical properties of the materials and the implications on the nature of the catalytic species are also briefly discussed.

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Unprecedented rhodium-catalyzed stereoselective polymerization of "carbenes" from ethyl diazoacetate (EDA) to give high molecular mass poly(ethyl 2-ylidene-acetate) is described. The mononuclear, neutral [(N,O-ligand)M(I)(cod)] (M = Rh, Ir) catalytic precursors for this reaction are characterized by (among others) single-crystal X-ray diffraction. These species mediate formation of a new type of polymers from EDA: carbon-chain polymers functionalized with a polar substituent at each carbon of the polymer backbone. The polymers are obtained as white powders with surprisingly sharp NMR resonances. Solution and solid state NMR data for these new polymers reveal a highly stereoregular polymer, with a high degree of crystallinity. The polymer is likely syndiotactic. Material properties are very different from those of atactic poly(diethyl fumarate) polymer obtained by radical polymerization of diethyl fumarate. Other diazoacetates are also polymerized. Further studies are underway to reveal possible applications of these new materials.

In this paper, we present the results of Monte Carlo simulations of the static properties of polymer melts confined between hard walls. The simulations are conducted in the canonical ensemble with a method that is a combination of reptation and crankshaft motions. 1250 polymer chains each comprising of 100 connected beads are placed in a box which allows for the simulation of a typical polymer melt confined between two hard plates at a separation of 51 bead diameters. Noncovalently bonded beads are assumed to interact with an empirical 6-12 Lennard-Jones potential which has parameters chosen to simulate a polyethylene melt at 400 K. From the analysis of the simulation results we show the existence of two relevant length scales in the problem. Single-chain statistics are perturbed by the wall, and this effect is screened out only after one proceeds to a distance comparable to twice the unperturbed radius of gyration of the polymer chain. However, many-chain statistics, i.e., packing and orientation of chain segments, are screened out as soon as one proceeds about three times the bead size from the wall. The simulation also allows for the study of the conformations of chains near the wall, and we observe that chains near the surface are flattened into nearly two-dimensional structures. The interface therefore corresponds to a region where chain configurations gradually evolve from this nearly two-dimensional structure to the unperturbed, three-dimensional Gaussian configurations in the bulk.