Palladium‐Catalyzed Telomerization of Butadiene with Starch

In order to modify the hydrophilic properties of native starch for its incorporation in polymers, the telomerization of butadiene with native starch was investigated. Low to moderate degrees of substitution (DS=0.04–0.52) were obtained depending upon experimental conditions, particularly, reaction time, temperature and solvent. With 0.3‰ water‐soluble palladium catalyst (Pd/TPPTS), the reaction occurred in i‐PrOH/NaOH 0.1 N solvent mixture even at 50 °C and after 3 h reaction the DS reached 0.08, a value suitable for the application.