Aqueous vinyl-insertion polymerization of lactamine-functionalized norbornene by palladium(II) chloride

Polymers of norbornene 4-O-(β-d-galactopyranosyl)-β-1′-((±)-exo-5-norbornene-2-carboxamido)-1′-deoxy glucitol were synthesized using PdCl2 catalyst in water. Molecular weights were measured by MALDI and GPC with on-line MALLS and differential refractive index (DRI) detection. Polymer molecular weights were found to be dependent upon both the concentration of reagent monomer and catalyst (PdCl2), while polydispersity was found to be independent of monomer and catalyst concentration. Molecular weights and polydispersity index derived from MALDI-MS were in good agreement with the MALLS-GPC method.