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Abstract The vinylic polymerization of norbornenes upon catalysis with Pd2+ complexes with norbornylnitrile as ligands is reported. The polynorbornenes (M̄w = 106) display a set of unique properties including a dense packing in the amorphous state, high glass transition temperatures, large refractive index, low birefringence and significant brittleness. To test the concept that these properties can be traced back to the conformational constraints of the polymer chains, we performed ab initio calculations, semi‐empirical quantum mechanical calculations and force‐field calculations employing a force field developed by us for polynorbornenes.
Haselwander et al. (1996) studied this question.