Facile preparation of optically active helical polycarbenes with salicylate substituents and their postpolymerization modification.

Optically active helical polycarbenes were constructed through the living and controlled helix-sense-selective polymerization (HSSP) of methyl salicylate modified diazoacetate monomer catalysed via π-allylPdCl with chiral phosphine ligands. The obtained helical polycarbenes could undergo postpolymerization modification to afford functional polycarbenes efficiently.