molecules Review Engineering of Syndiotactic and Isotactic Polystyrene-Based Copolymers via Stereoselective Catalytic Polymerization Eva Laur, Evgueni Kirillov * and Jean-François Carpentier * Université de Rennes 1, CNRS, Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes, UMR 6226, F-35042 Rennes CEDEX, France;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected] (E.K.);
[email protected] (J.-F.C.); Tel.: +33-223-236-118 (E.K.); +33-223-236-939 (J.-F.C.) Academic Editor: Kotohiro Nomura Received: 18 March 2017; Accepted: 5 April 2017; Published: 7 April 2017 Abstract: This contribution presents an updated overview of the different copolymers containing stereoregular polystyrene blocks. Special emphasis is placed on syndiospecific and isospecific copolymerization of styrene with co-monomers (ethylene and α-olefins, conjugated and non-conjugated dienes, styrene derivatives, etc.). The catalytic systems involved are described and the polymerization mechanisms are discussed. Alternative approaches (simultaneous, living, chain-transfer and graft copolymerization) and the resulting detailed structures and characteristics of the copolymers are also reported. Keywords: styrene; syndiotactic polystyrene; isotactic polystyrene; copolymers; stereoselective catalysis; polymerization 1. Introduction Production of plastic materials is one of the most important processes of the contemporary chemical industry (some 322 million tons of plastic materials were produced in 2015) and represents an ever-increasing market. Besides commodity polymers, numerous efforts are focused on the development of new generations of materials with more specific properties (engineering and specialty polymers) designed to replace other materials like ceramics or metals. Copolymerization of two (or more) monomers is one of the ways to create new materials, as copolymers have unique properties different from those of the corresponding homopolymers.