The present invention relates to a process for the hydrogenation of the carbon-carbon double bonds in nitrile butadiene rubber which is present in latex form, this means as a suspension of nitrile butadiene rubber particles in an aqueous medium, using a hydrogenation catalyst in the presence of an emulsifier.

A compound represented by the structure of formula (I): ##STR00001## The compound is useful as a ligand for ruthenium to form an organometallic complex. The complex may be immobilized on an oxidic support to form an active, heterogeneous catalyst for the hydrogenolysis of amides to form amines and optionally alcohols.

A carbene-coated metal foil is produced by applying an N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) compound to one or more surfaces of a metal foil (e.g., an electrodeposited copper foil having a surface that is smooth and non-oxidized). The NHC compound contains a matrix-reactive pendant group that includes at least one of a vinyl-, allyl-, acrylic-, methacrylic-, styrenic-, amine-, amide- and epoxy-containing moiety capable of reacting with a base polymer (e.g., a vinyl-containing resin such as a polyphenylene oxide/triallyl-isocyanurate (PPO/TAIC) composition). The NHC compound may be synthesized by, for example, reacting a halogenated imidazolium salt (e.g., 1,3-bis(4-bromo-2,6-dimethylphenyl)-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-3-ium chloride) and an organostannane having a vinyl-containing moiety (e.g., tributyl(vinyl)stannane) in the presence of a palladium catalyst. In some embodiments, an enhanced substrate for a printed circuit board (PCB) is produced by laminating the carbene-coated metal foil to a substrate that includes glass fiber impregnated with the base polymer.

A carbene-coated metal foil is produced by applying an N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) compound to one or more surfaces of a metal foil (e.g., an electrodeposited copper foil having a surface that is smooth and non-oxidized). The NHC compound contains a matrix-reactive pendant group that includes at least one of a vinyl-, allyl-, acrylic-, methacrylic-, styrenic-, amine-, amide- and epoxy-containing moiety capable of reacting with a base polymer (e.g., a vinyl-containing resin such as a polyphenylene oxide/triallyl-isocyanurate (PPO/TAIC) composition). The NHC compound may be synthesized by, for example, reacting a halogenated imidazolium salt (e.g., 1,3-bis(4-bromo-2,6-dimethylphenyl)-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-3-ium chloride) and an organostannane having a vinyl-containing moiety (e.g., tributyl(vinyl)stannane) in the presence of a palladium catalyst. In some embodiments, an enhanced substrate for a printed circuit board (PCB) is produced by laminating the carbene-coated metal foil to a substrate that includes glass fiber impregnated with the base polymer.

A compound represented by the structure of formula (I):

##STR00001##

The compound is useful as a ligand for ruthenium to form an organometallic complex. The complex may be immobilized on an oxidic support to form an active, heterogeneous catalyst for the hydrogenolysis of amides to form amines and optionally alcohols.

An enhanced substrate includes a carbine-coated metal foil laminated to a substrate that includes glass fiber impregnated with a base polymer. The carbine-coated foil metal includes a conductive surface treated with an N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) compound containing a matrix-reactive pendant group that includes at least one of a vinyl-, allyl-, acrylic-, methacrylic-, styrenic-, amine-, amide- and epoxy-containing moiety capable of reacting with the base polymer.

A method of producing polymer fibers and/or particles by direct polymerization of monomers without use of any external high energy sources (such as heat or UV) is described. The method may be used to fabricate polymer fibers, fiber mats, 3D polymer fiber structures, and polymer nano- and microparticles. Polymer fibers may be used to create fiber mats which can be utilized in a variety of applications.

Provided are a transition metal compound including a novel carbene compound as a ligand, a preparation method thereof, and an application thereof. The transition metal compound according to the present invention may form a structurally stable complex and also have a HOMO-LUMO energy gap and singlet-triplet transition energy which are significantly low as compared with a conventional transition metal compound. In addition, according to the present invention, the transition metal compound may be synthesized in large quantities by a very simple method, thereby having high commercial utility, and thus, an application using the compound is expected.

A method of producing polymer fibers and/or particles by direct polymerization of monomers without use of any external high energy sources (such as heat or UV) is described. The method may be used to fabricate polymer fibers, fiber mats, 3D polymer fiber structures, and polymer nano- and microparticles. Polymer fibers may be used to create fiber mats which can be utilized in a variety of applications.

The present disclosure describes a method of coupling a first compound to a second compound, the method comprising: providing the first compound having a fluorosulfonate substituent; providing the second compound comprising an amine; and reacting the first compound and the second compound in a reaction mixture, the reaction mixture including a catalyst having at least one group 10 atom, the reaction mixture including a base, the base comprising a carbonate salt, a phosphate salt or an acetate salt, the reaction mixture under conditions effective to couple the first compound to the second compound. The present disclosure further describes a one-pot method for coupling a first compound to a second compound in the presence of a mild base.