Amino‐containing functionalized syndiotactic polystyrenes with high melting temperatures and temperature stability are synthesized by the direct polymerization of amino‐containing styrenic monomers in the presence of a half‐sandwich scandium catalyst system [(C5Me4SiMe3)Sc(CH2C6H4NMe2‐o)2]/[Ph3C][B(C6F5)4]. The high syndiotactic poly(N,N‐dimethylamino)styrene (rrrr > 99%), then used as novel polymer supports, effectively anchored Pd nanoparticles (3 wt % of Pd) with a diameter of 4 or 5 nm that were uniformly dispersed on polymer matrix.

Palladium nanoparticles immobilized on an amino‐functionalized syndiotactic polystyrene (sPS‐N) served as a novel recyclable catalyst for the dimethylation and cross methyl alkylation of a wide range of ketones with methanol as the methylation agent. This heterogeneous catalyst (Pd@sPS‐N) was highly robust and showed excellent thermal stability and chemical resistance. It not only showed remarkably high activity, but it could also be easily recovered by filtration without loss of activity.

A novel family of ethylene–propylene–isoprene terpolymers was prepared by the terpolymerization of ethylene and propylene with isoprene catalyzed by the half-sandwich scandium complexs.