Production of telechelic compounds by metathesis depolymerization

1. A process for preparing a product mixture comprising ethylenically unsaturated telechelic polymers, the steps of the process comprising contacting a metathesis catalyst under polymer metathesis conditions with a composition comprising the unsaturated copolymer formed by addition polymerization of ethylene, a conjugated diene or alkyne, and one or more C 3-20 α-olefins, said metathesis being conducted in the presence of a cyclic olefin or polyolefin, an acyclic olefin, and/or a chain transfer agent, and recovering the resulting telechelic reaction product.

2. A process for preparing a product mixture comprising functionalized telechelic polymers, the steps of the process comprising:

i) forming a mixture comprising ethylenically unsaturated telechelic polymers by contacting an unsaturated copolymer formed by addition polymerization of ethylene, a conjugated diene or alkyne, and optionally one or more C 3-20 α-olefins, with a metathesis catalyst under polymer metathesis conditions in the presence of a cyclic olefin or polyolefin, an acyclic olefin, and/or a chain transfer agent, to form a polyunsaturated reaction product;

ii) converting some or all of the ethylenic unsaturation in the polyunsaturated reaction product to one or more functional groups; and

iii) recovering the resulting functionalized telechelic reaction product.

3. A process according to claim 2 for preparing a product mixture comprising a polyol, the steps of the process comprising:

i) forming a mixture comprising ethylenically unsaturated telechelic polymers by contacting an unsaturated copolymer formed by addition polymerization of ethylene, a conjugated diene or alkyne, and optionally one or more C 3-20 α-olefins, with a metathesis catalyst under polymer metathesis conditions in the presence of a cyclic olefin or polyolefin, an acyclic olefin, and/or a chain transfer agent, to form a polyunsaturated reaction product; and

ii) hydroformylating some or all of the ethylenic unsaturation in the polyunsaturated reaction product from step i) under reductive hydroformylation conditions to form a hydroxy-functionalized telechelic reaction product comprising a polyol; and

iii) recovering the resulting hydroxy-functionalized telechelic reaction product.

4. A telechelic polymer comprising ethylenic unsaturation prepared from the metathesis of poly(ethylene-co-octene-co-butadiene) and ethylene according to a process comprising contacting a metathesis catalyst under polymer metathesis conditions with a composition comprising the poly(ethylene-co-octene-co-butadiene) and ethylene, and recovering the resulting telechelic polymer.

5. A process for the preparation of a polyurethane composition by reaction of a diisocyanate compound with a polyol, characterized in that the polyol comprises a telechelic polymer prepared according to the process of claim 3 .

6. A process according to claim 1 wherein the unsaturated polymer reagent subjected to metathesis comprises from 0.001 to 10 mole percent ethylenic unsaturation.

7. A process according to claim 6 wherein the unsaturated polymer is a copolymer of ethylene and butadiene, and one or more C 3-8 olefins, or a partially hydrogenated derivative thereof.

8. A process according to claim 7 wherein the unsaturated polymer contains from 0.1 to 1 mole percent ethylenic unsaturation.

9. A process according to claim 1 wherein the metathesis is conducted in the presence of a catalyst comprising (A) at least one organometallic compound wherein the metal is selected from Groups 1, 2, 12 or 13 of the Periodic Table of Elements, (B) at least one metal derivative wherein the metal is selected from the group consisting of metals of Groups 5, 6, or 7 of the Periodic Table of Elements and, optionally, (C) at least one chelating- or Lewis base-material.

10. A process according to claim 1 wherein the metathesis is conducted in the presence of a catalyst comprising a compound of the general formula:

wherein:

M A is ruthenium or osmium;

X A and X B are the same or different anionic ligand;

L A is a neutral electron donor ligand;

L B is a neutral electron donor ligand or a nitrogen containing heterocyclic carbene; and

R A and R B are independently each occurrence hydrogen, or an alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, aryl, carboxylate, alkoxy, alkenyloxy, alkynyloxy, aryloxy, alkoxycarbonyl, alkylthio, alkylsulfonyl, alkylsulfinyl, or silyl group of up to 20 atoms not counting hydrogen, an alkyl, alkoxy, aryl, aralkyl, haloalkyl, haloalkoxy, haloaryl or haloalkaryl substituted derivative thereof; or a functionalized derivative of any of the foregoing wherein the functional group is hydroxyl, thiol, alcohol, sulfonic acid, phosphine, thioether, ketone, aldehyde, ester, ether, amine, imine, amide, imide, imido, nitro, carboxylic acid, disulfide, carbonate, isocyanate, carbodiimide, carboalkoxy, carbamate, acetal, ketal, boronate, cyano, cyanohydrin, hydrazine, oxime, hydrazide, enamine, sulfone, sulfide, sulfenyl, or halogen.

11. A process according to claim 10 wherein the catalyst comprises a ruthenium derivative wherein L B is a tertiary phosphine, and L A is either a tertiary phosphine or a nitrogen containing heterocyclic ligand.

12. A process according to claim 11 wherein L A is an imidazolidinyl- or triazolyl- ligand of the formula:

wherein Ar independently each occurrence is an aryl group of up to 50 atoms, and

R c independently each occurrence is hydrogen or an anionic ligand group or multiple R c groups collectively may form one or more fused rings.

13. A process according to claim 12 wherein Ar independently each occurrence is phenyl or 2,4,6-trimethylphenyl.

14. A process according to claim 1 wherein ethylene is present during the metathesis.