Laser-initiated Polymerization of Phenylacetylene by Metal Carbonyls

Polyphenylacetylene was obtained in CCl₄ in the presence of ultraviolet laser-activated W（CO）₆ and its weight-average molecular weight was measured to reach 9.36×10⁴. The influence of laser operating parameters （wavelength, energy and irradiation time） and the concentration of W（CO）₆ on the polymerization was investigated. The results of W（CO）₆, Mo（CO）₆ and Cr（CO）₆ photocatalysis polymerization of phenylacetylene are given. Experiments show that laser operating parameters and catalysts have influenced the polymerization obviously, and UV laser-W（CO）₆-CCl₄ is a new type of highly efficient catalyst whose lifetime is about 15 hours.