Patent ID: 8030422

Claim:
A process for the polymerization and co-polymerization of olefinic monomers employing a polymer-bound chain transfer catalyst to produce a molecular weight-controlled macronomer, said process comprising: (i) forming a polymerization medium comprising said olefinic monomers and said chain transfer catalyst, and optionally solvent(s), and (ii) polymerizing said olefinic monomers; (iii) effecting a phase partition of the chain transfer catalyst; and (iv) separating said chain transfer catalyst from said macromonomer, wherein said chain transfer catalyst is represented by a central moiety CAT and one or more substituents Poly positioned on CAT to form CAT−(Poly)x wherein said Poly radicals are linear or branched polymers with an average chain length equal to or greater than 20 atoms; wherein x is an integer greater than or equal to 1; wherein CAT comprises a metal atom coordinated to one or more ligands; and wherein said moiety CAT is defined such that the compound CAT-(R 1 )x is a chain transfer catalyst, wherein R 1 is independently H or CH 3 ; and wherein said Poly radicals are covalently bonded to one or more of said ligands.