Norbornene or norbornylene or norcamphene is a highly strained bridged cyclic hydrocarbon. It is a white solid with a pungent sour odor. The molecule consists of a cyclohexene ring with a methylene bridge between carbons 1 and 4. The molecule carries a double bond which induces significant ring strain and significant reactivity.
Norbornene is used in the Catellani reaction and in norbornene-mediated meta-C−H activation.[3]
Certain substituted norbornenes undergo unusual substitution reactions owing to the generation of the 2-norbornyl cation.
Being a strained ene, norbornenes react readily with thiols in the thiol-ene reaction to form thioethers. This makes norbornene-functionalized monomers ideal for polymerization with thiol-based monomers to form thiol-ene networks.[4]
File:Polynbornene.pngROMP reaction giving polynorbornene. Like most commercial alkene metathesis processes, this reaction does not employ a well-defined molecular catalyst.
Polynorbornene is used mainly in the rubber industry for antivibration (rail, building, industry), antiimpact (personal protective equipment, shoe parts, bumpers) and grip improvement (toy tires, racing tires, transmission systems, transports systems for copiers, feeders, etc.)
