Abstract
ELECTRON-DONOR COMPONENTS of commercial Ziegler-Natta polymerization catalysts dictate the structure of the catalyst’s active site, according to a new study ( J. Catal. 2008, 257 , 81). The study provides new avenues for probing details of catalytic reaction mechanisms and may lead to more active and chemically selective catalysts for tailoring molecular properties of polymers. Ziegler-Natta catalysts drive commercial poly-olefin production. They consist of titanium tetrachloride supported on magnesium dichloride crystallites and include aluminum alkyl cocatalysts and organic electron-donor compounds. Although the well-studied catalytic materials mediate polyethylene and polypropylene production on an industrial scale, some aspects of the catalytic system remain poorly understood. For example, researchers have speculated that the electron-donor compounds may play a role in enhancing polymerization by controlling the geometry of MgCl 2 crystals and the orientations of their external surfaces. That proposal...
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