Highly rigid polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIM) offer novel high temperature template materials for the formation of nano-structured metal oxides, here for nanostructured Pr6O11.

Unsymmetrical amine tris(phenolate) ligands have been prepared and complexed to Zr(iv). In the solid-state dimeric species are observed, which persist in solution. The complexes show interesting coordination chemistry and the nature of which is discussed. These complexes are analogues of a highly stereoselective C3-symmetric Zr(iv) amine tris(phenolate) alkoxide and have been prepared, characterised and trialled for the ring-opening of rac-lactide providing insight into the effect of symmetry and ligand steric bulk on selectivity. The polymerisations have been investigated in solution and under the industrially preferred melt conditions (130 °C). The rate law for the ROP has been determined - with Zr2()2(O(i)Pr)2, a pseudo first order dependency was seen, however for Zr2()2(O(i)Pr)2 this changed to a half order dependency in initiator.

A series of Al(iii) complexes based on novel amine-bis(phenolate)s have been prepared for the production of polyesters.

A stereoselective, solvent-free ring-opening polymerisation (ROP) of lactide (LA) in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) is reported for the first time.

Correction for ‘Polymers of intrinsic microporosity as high temperature templates for the formation of nanofibrous oxides’ by H. Al Kutubi et al., RSC Adv., 2015, 5, 73323–73326.