PRECISE ROUTE TO POLYPROPYLENES

Abstract

A NEW STRATEGY FOR producing propylene-and longer α-olefin-based polymeric materials promises to boost efficiency of polymer synthesis and produce materials with highly controlled polyolefin chain lengths and properties. The process, developed by Lawrence R. Sita and coworkers of the University of Maryland, gives chemists access to previously unattainable oils and waxes that could be useful in specialty chemical applications, including detergents, lubricants, and plasticizers. “While millions of tons of linear α-olefins are produced each year based on ethylene, the corresponding and potentially more interesting derivatives based on propylene or higher α-olefins have not been prepared in a robust fashion,” says polymer scientist Craig J. Hawker of the University of California, Santa Barbara. “The present work circumvents previous challenges and delivers a low-temperature, highly controlled process that has great potential in both academic and industrial laboratories.” Sita’s group relied on two existing po...