Synthesis of Polymers by Polycyclotrimerisation

Research on the synthesis and properties of cross-linked polymers obtained by a promising new method – polycyclotrimerisation of monomers containing acetylenic and multiple carbon–nitrogen bonds – is surveyed with attention concentrated mainly on recent studies of the laws governing the reaction, elucidation of the influence of the heterounit character of cross-linked systems on their properties, and the development of methods for effecting highly selective polycyclotrimerisation with the aim of diminishing the "defectiveness" of the polymers and obtaining molecularly regular networks. Characteristics of polycyclotrimerisation of monomers having various functional groups ($-\mathrm{C}\equiv\mathrm{CH}$, $-\mathrm{C}\equiv\mathrm{N}$, $-\mathrm{C}=\mathrm{N}$, $-\mathrm{N}=\mathrm{C}=\mathrm{O}$, $-\mathrm{O}-\mathrm{C}\equiv\mathrm{N}$, $-\mathrm{NH}-\mathrm{C}\equiv\mathrm{N}$, $-\mathrm{NR}-\mathrm{C}\equiv\mathrm{N}$) are identified, and the influence of the structure of the initial monomers on the properties of the resulting cross-linked polymers is examined. A list of 159 references is included.