Reversible ultrasonic scission of coordination polymers: Towards catalysis

The mol. wt. of polymers can be reduced by irradn. with ultrasound. This principle is applied on industrial scale so as to make materials easier to process. We have shown that linear coordination polymers consisting of palladium(II) dichloride and phosphine telechelic polytetrahydrofuran can be broken as well. The weakest bonds in the system are coordinative bonds and scission is therefore reversible. Apart from controlling rheol., this principle has great potential in coordination chem. and catalysis. For real applications to come into sight, the efficiency of the process has to be increased. We are therefore investigating coordination networks and star coordination polymers and ultrasonic scission of these materials. [on SciFinder (R)]