Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization Kinetics of Cyclooctene with Second Generation Grubbs’ Catalyst

A kinetic study of the ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of cis-cyclooctene using the ruthenium initiator benzylidene [1,3-bis(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)-4,5-dihydroimidazol-2-ylidene]-dichloro-(tricyclohexylphosphine) (second generation Grubbs’ catalyst) was carried out by 1H-NMR. The dependence on the reaction rate with the temperature and the influence of the addition of a chain transfer agent were evaluated. Some kinetic constants are also reported for this system.