Solvent-ligated manganese(II) complexes for the homopolymerization of isobutene and the copolymerization of isobutene and isoprene.

Polyisobutenes with a high content of terminal olefinic groups can be synthesized by using manganese(II) initiators in homogeneous solution. These easily accessible complexes initiate the polymerization at room temperature and above, and afford highly reactive, gel-free polyisobutenes with high viscosities. Furthermore, the initiators were successfully used for the copolymerization of isobutene with isoprene. The high activities of the Mn(II) initiators seem to be related to their weakly coordinating nitrile ligands, which are easily displaced by substrate molecules. Replacing the nitrile ligands by other more strongly coordinating ligands such as water reduces the initiator activity significantly. The Mn(II) initiators are surprisingly resistant to temperature.