Hydrogenation

Abstract

The hydrogenation of polymers is a widely practiced postpolymerization chemical modification reaction. The hydrogenation of polymers provides materials that are more thermally and oxidatively stable when compared with their precursor polymers. Hydrogenated polymers are a commercially important class of materials, particularly in the area of elastomeric systems. The chemistry required to bring about the hydrogenation of polymers has significant differences compared with similar reactions performed on small‐molecule substrates. Specific catalytic chemistry, with both heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysts, has been developed for the hydrogenation of polymers. Chemical methods are also known that can conveniently hydrogenate a range of polymeric substrates. This article reviews the types of polymeric substrates that have been hydrogenated and their products, the use of these materials to advance the fundamental understanding of polymer structure/property relationships, and the synthetic methods and processes that have been developed to bring about polymeric hydrogenation.