A method for synthesizing an aliphatic polyester block copolymer regulated by carbon monoxide. The method uses an organic cobalt metal complex as a convertible catalyst and includes: first regulating an anionic ring-opening copolymerization reaction between an aliphatic acid anhydride and an epoxy compound; then using carbon monoxide as a conversion agent for conversion to obtain a catalyst having a new catalytic active site; and regulating a vinyl monomer to perform active free radical polymerization to obtain an aliphatic polyester block copolymer having a controllable structure. The described synthesis method uses a convertible catalyst and a conversion agent, combines two controllable polymerization reactions which have different but compatible mechanisms, and obtains a block copolymer by means of a “one-pot” reaction.

Nanoparticles that can be used as hydrosilylation and dehydrogenative silylation catalysts. The nanoparticles have at least one transition metal with an oxidation state of 0, chosen from the metals of columns 8, 9 and 10 of the periodic table, and at least one carbonyl ligand, preferably a silicide.

Disclosed are a pincer-type ligand having a structurally rigid acridane structure and a metal complex consisting of the pincer-type ligand and a metal bound to each other, and exhibiting high reactivity and stability during a variety of bonding activation reactions. T-shaped complexes can be prepared from .sup.acriPNP(4,5-bis(diisopropylphosphino)-2,7,9,9-tetramethyl-9H-acridin-10-ide), which is a pincer-type PNP ligand having an acridane structure, and metal complexes, which can be structurally rigid and thus exhibit excellent reactivity and stability based on minimized structural change thereof, can be prepared by introducing an acridane structure into the backbone thereof. The PNP ligand is structurally stable and has novel chemical properties, as compared to conventional similar ligands, and thus can be utilized in a wide range of catalytic reactions and material chemistry.

The present disclosure relates to block copolymers comprising, and methods of making thereof, a polycarbonate chain linked to a hydrophilic polymer. Such block copolymers may have the formula B-A-B, where A is a polycarbonate or polyethercarbonate chain and B is a polyether. Provided methods are useful in reducing the amount of waste generated from the synthesis of polycarbonates and provide improved thermal stability and high primary hydroxyl content. Provided block copolymers also have utility as additives in enhanced oil recovery methods, and foam polymer applications.

Described herein is a hydroformylation catalyst system and method useful for producing aldehydes from olefin substrates, without using carbon monoxide gas. The hydroformylation catalyst system includes a hydroformylation catalyst complex including a Group 9 metal complexed with a phosphine-based ligand; a syngas surrogate including formic acid and an anhydride compound, which forms carbon monoxide in situ; and hydrogen, which may derive from the syngas surrogate or not derived from the syngas surrogate. The method involves reacting the olefin substrate with a syngas surrogate in the presence of a hydroformylation catalyst complex, wherein the syngas surrogate forms carbon monoxide, and optionally hydrogen, in situ, and then isolating the aldehyde compound from a reaction mixture.

A method of making an M-N—C catalyst is disclosed. The method includes the steps of (a) contacting an N-doped carbon support with a basic solution that includes a metal salt, whereby the N-doped carbon support is metalated by the metal cation of the metal salt to form one or more chelated metal-nitrogen complexes (MN.sub.x species); and (b) subsequently contacting the metalated N-doped carbon support with an acid, whereby the one or more MN.sub.x species formed on the N-doped carbon support in step (a) remain intact while other species are removed. The resulting composition may be catalytically activated by heat treating the composition. The activated catalyst may be used to catalyze a wide range of chemical reactions.

This invention relates to a composition comprising a compound having a formula of M2(CO)m(PF3)n, wherein M is a group 9 metal (such as cobalt), m is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7, n is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7, and the sum of m and n is 8, that may be used as a hydroformylation pre¬catalyst for converting (such as hydroformylating) olefinic feeds, especially complex feeds comprising internal olefins and high degrees of branching.

A high-activity double-metal-cyanide catalyst, a method for fabricating the same, and applications of the same are disclosed. An organic complexing ligand, which is formed via mixing fatty alcohols and alicyclic carbonates, is used to generate a high-activity double-metal-cyanide catalyst. The high-activity double-metal-cyanide catalyst includes at least one double-metal-cyanide compound, at least one organic complexing ligand, and an optional functionalized compound. The double-metal-cyanide catalyst of the present invention has a higher activity than the conventional double-metal-cyanide catalysts. The polyols generated by the present invention has an insignificant amount of high-molecular-weight compounds.

A transition metal-based heterogeneous carbonylation reaction catalyst has an excellent catalytic activity and selectivity in the carbonylation reaction and is easily separated from a product, by crosslinking polymerizing a transition metal-based homogeneous catalyst unit through a Friedel-Craft reaction. The catalyst may be used in a method for preparing lactone. The transition metal-based heterogeneous carbonylation reaction catalyst allows to produce lactone or succinic anhydride with an epoxide compound while showing a high selectivity, and can be applied in industrial very usefully due to easy separation from the product and thus reusing thereof.

Disclosed are highly active cationic cobalt phosphine complexes, both mono- and bimetallic, that can catalyze hydroformylation reactions. The disclosed catalysts can be utilized in methods that provide reaction processes that are hundreds of times faster than high pressure HCo(CO).sub.4 or phosphine-modified HCo(CO).sub.3(PR.sub.3) catalysts and operate at considerably lower pressures and temperatures. Also disclosed are methods of hydroformylation using the described transition metal complexes. This abstract is intended as a scanning tool for purposes of searching in the particular art and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure.