4,7-Diphenyl-1,9-decadiene and 5,6-Diphenyl-1,9-decadiene were synthesized and polymerized with several metathesis catalysts. The α,ω-diene monomers were prepared by Wurtz or Grignard coupling of 4(or 5)-phenyl-substituted 5-halo-1-pentene.
When $WCl_4(OAr)_2[OAr=O-2.6-C_6H_3Cl_2$, $O-2.6-C_6H_3Ph_2]$ was mixed with $PbEt_4$ and used as a catalyst system, only metathesis polymerization products were resulted, with splitting of a mole of ethylene per mole of monomer, from these acyclic α,ω-diene monomers in yields of 5-60% under the employed conditions. The metathesis polymers have the structures of 4,7 (or 5,6)-diphenyl-substituted polyoctenamer same with those of the alternating copolymers of styrene:butadiene(2:1) with styrene diad. When $WCl_6$, $MoCl_5$, or $WCl_4(OAr)_2$ with $EtAlCl_2$ were used as catalyst systems, highly saturated polymers were obtained in yields of 60-75%, but no metathetical products were resulted.
