-Diimine complexes of palladium and nickel catalyze the polymerization of
-olefins to givenew materials that range from low-
Tg elastomers to low-melting, partially crystalline polymers. The
1H and
13CNMR spectra of the resulting polymers have been assigned in detail. Many unique microstructural features of thecomplex polymers have been identified. Mechanistic models that involve the 1,2- and 2,1-insertion of the
-olefins,chain walking, and insertion at certain points along the chain have been constructed. The complex microstructurescan be explained using a small set of rules for palladium catalysts which is expanded slightly to account for thenickel catalysts.