Norbornene polymers containing bound antioxidant

Claim 1

A polymeric composition of matter comprising a reaction product obtained by ring opening polymerization of a norbornene-type monomer or a mixture thereof and a norbornenyl phenolic antioxidant or a mixture thereof defined as follows: where R 1 , R 2 , and R are individually selected from hydrogen and alkyl groups of 1 to 3 carbon atoms; R 4 is selected from hydrogen, alkyl groups containing 1 to 12 carbon atoms, and substituted and unsubstituted alicyclic groups of 4 to 8 carbon atoms; R 5 is selected from alkyl groups of 1 to 6 carbon atoms, and substituted and unsubstituted alicyclic groups of 4 to 8 carbon atoms; R 6 is selected from alkylene and alkenylene groups containing 1 to 8 carbon atoms; and R 7 is selected from hydrogen, and alkenyl groups of 1 to 8 carbon atoms, amount of said norbornenyl phenolic being sufficient to improve antioxidant properties of said reaction product;