Poly(2-oxazoline)s Functionalized with Palladium Carbene Complexes: Soluble, Amphiphilic Polymer Supports for C−C Coupling Reactions in Water

This paper describes the synthesis and characterization of a new class of amphiphilic, water-soluble diblock copolymers based on 2-oxazoline derivatives with pendent N-heterocyclic carbene/palladium catalysts in the hydrophobic block. The synthetic strategy involves a four-step synthesis of three functionalized monomers, each composed of a bis(imidazoline-2-ylidene)palladium(II) diiodide derivative that is covalently linked to a 2-oxazoline monomer via a flexible alkyl spacer (alkyl = butyl, hexyl, octyl). The structure of the monomers was analyzed by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy, MALDI-TOF, and elemental analysis. Three diblock copolymers P1−P3 with the monomers being part of the hydrophobi…