Recent advances in the neodymium catalysed polymerisation of 1,3-dienes

The benefits of using a homogeneous neodymium-based catalyst for the industrial “high cis” polymerisation of 1,3-butadiene are underlined. Preformed homogeneous catalysts for the “high cis” polymerisation of 1,3-butadiene based on Nd(carboxylate)₃/diisobutylaluminium hydride/^tbutyl chloride have been examined. The effects of changing (a) the order of catalyst component addition, (b) the carboxylate component and (c) the halogen component, on catalyst homogeneity, activity and polymer characteristics have been examined.     

The reactor granule technology: A revolutionary approach to polymer blends and alloys

The new plastic materials frontier in general and in thermoplastic polyolefins in particular developed in the last years and into next century are and will be represented by polymer alloys. The new trend in polymer alloy is to obtain them from monomer directly in the reactor, replacing the polymer blends previously made by mechanical melt extrusion of preformed polymers. It discloses new opportunities in term of properties together with better economics. The reactor granule technology developed by Himont/Montecatini produces spherical form alloys that are a synergistic combination of morphological, chemical, rheological and thermomechanical properties, by which the polymer finds many applications not previously suitable for polypropylene or polyethylene. In reactor granule technology the multimonomer random and heterophasic copolymers can be produced primarly within the granule enclosed by a solid polymer skin free from sticky nature, typical of polymers obtained by gas-phase technology and causing many problems like particles agglomeration and fouling.     

Weak Attractive Ligand–Polymer and Related Interactions in Catalysis and Reactivity: Impact,Applications, and Modeling

The notion of weak attractive ligand–polymer interactions is introduced, and its potential application, importance, and conceptual links with “cooperative” ligand–substrate interactions are discussed. Synthetic models of weak attractive ligand–polymer interactions are described, in which intramolecular weak C? H???F? C interactions (the existence of which remains contentious) have been detected by NMR spectroscopy and neutron and X‐ray diffraction experiments. These C? H???F? C interactions carry important implications for the design of catalysts for olefin polymerization, because they provide support for the practical feasibility of ortho‐F???H_β ligand–polymer contacts proposed for living Group 4 fluorinated phenoxyimine catalysts. The notion of weak attractive noncovalent interactions between an “active” ligand and the growing polymer chain is a novel concept in polyolefin catalysis.     

A Monte Carlo Method to Quantify the Effect of Reactor Residence Time Distribution on Polyolefins Made with Heterogeneous Catalysts: Part I—Catalyst/Polymer Particle Size Distribution Effects

Polyolefins are commercially produced in continuous reactors that have a broad residence time distribution (RTD). Most of these polymers are made with heterogeneous catalysts that also have a particle size distribution (PSD). These are totally segregated systems, in which the catalyst/polymer particle can be seen as a microreactor operated in semibatch mode, where the reagents (olefins, hydrogen, etc.) are fed continuously to the catalyst/polymer particle, but no polymer particle can leave. The reactor RTD has a large influence on the PSD of the polymer particles leaving the reactor, as well as in polymer microstructure and properties, polymerization yield, and composition of reactor blends. This article proposes a Monte Carlo model that can describe how particle RTD in a single or a series of reactors can affect the PSD of polymer particles made under a variety of operation conditions. It is believed that this is the most flexible model ever proposed to model this phenomenon, and can be easily modified to track all properties of interest during polyolefin production in continuous reactors with heterogeneous catalysts.     

From organometallic and polymer chemistry to applied materials science: transition metal catalyzed synthesis of polyolefins and polyolefin-based high-performance materials

A brief history of the development of transition metal-catalyzed olefin polymerization including the present status of polyolefin chemistry is given. The entire evolution of polyolefin chemistry will be outlined, giving ample attention to the development in the catalytic systems. Starting with the first generation PP catalysts (TiCl₃/AlClEt₂), the success story of organometallic chemistry, which resulted in modern supported and unsupported single site systems and finally functional group-tolerant group VIII systems will be summarized. Where applicable, examples of technical application will be given. Additionally, organometallic chemistry responsible for selectivity but also for termination reactions as well as the various “living” systems and the adherent implications for materials science will be discussed. Finally, the impact of related transition metal-catalyzed metathesis chemistry on the area of specialty materials will be outlined.     

Complexing polymer sorbents and metal polymer complex catalysts with specially designed structure of active centres

A new approach to a problem of preparation, regulation of properties and formation of three-dimensional structure of complexing polymer sorbents and metal polymer complex catalysts with specially designed structure of active centres has been developed. The main principle is based on the use of “memory” of polymer composition and consists in prearrangement of macromolecules of initial complexing polymer or metal polymer complex catalyst to sorbing metal or hydrocarbon substrate followed by fixation of optimum for particular substrate conformation by intermolecular crosslinking. Using this principle a number of crosslinked complexing polymer sorbents and metal polymer complex catalysts containing phosphorylic, carboxylic, pyridine, amine and imine functional groups have been prepared. It has been shown that prearrangement leads to essential improvement of basic sorption and catalytic properties of the crosslinked complexing polymers - sorption capacity, the rate of uptake, selectivity and catalytic activity.     

Smart bilayer polymer reactor with cascade/non-cascade switching catalyst characteristics

In this work, a new method is proposed to meet the challenge of preparing new catalysts with cascade/non-cascade switching catalytic property. Inspired from “soft” characteristics and divisional isolation function in natural biological systems, this objective was accomplished by developing a new class of hydrogels made of two unique functional layers with different temperature responses where each may self-govern coupled processes at a specific temperature. This hydrogel polymer reactor exhibited almost no catalytic activity at low-temperature range (<37 °C) as both channels of bilayer hydrogel polymer catalyst were closed. At modest temperatures (between 37 °C and 50 °C), the first step of the tandem reaction (the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl acetate (NPA)) showed significant reactivity that arises from the relaxing of the weak polymer complexes in the hydrogel layer. This enabled NPA the access to the acidic catalytic active center of the hydrogel. At range of higher temperatures (>50 °C), the hydrogel catalytic polymer reactor further exhibited significant efficiency towards the hydrolysis reaction of NPA as well as the reduction of the intermediate product p-nitrophenol (NP). This mainly resulted from the opening of both the weak polymer complexes and the stronger polymer complexes hydrogel layers, allowing entrance to both the acidic catalytic active center and the metal nanoparticles active center. As a result, the novel hydrogel polymer reactor could be used to control cascade/non-cascade catalysis reactions. This new protocol enables efficient control of switchable tandem reactions, inspiring for difficulty to control tandem catalytic reactors.     

Supramolecular Strategies for the Recycling of Homogeneous Catalysts

Supramolecular approaches are increasingly used in the development of homogeneous catalysts and they also provide interesting new tools for the recycling of metal-based catalysts. Various non-covalent interactions have been utilized for the immobilization homogeneous catalysts on soluble and insoluble support. By non-covalent anchoring the supported catalysts obtained can be recovered via (nano-) filtration or such catalytic materials can be used in continuous flow reactors. Specific benefits from the reversibility of catalyst immobilization by non-covalent interactions include the possibility to re-functionalize the support material and the use as “boomerang” type catalyst systems in which the catalyst is captured after a homogeneous reaction. In addition, new reactor design with implemented recycling strategies becomes possible, such as a reverse-flow adsorption reactor (RFA) that combines a homogeneous reactor with selective catalyst adsorption/desorpion. Next to these non-covalent immobilization strategies, supramolecular chemistry can also be used to generate the support, for example by generation of self-assembled gels with catalytic function. Although the stability is a challenging issue, some self-assembled gel materials have been successfully utilized as reusable heterogeneous catalysts. In addition, catalytically active coordination cages, which are frequently used to achieve specific activity or selectivity, can be bound to support by ionic interactions or can be prepared in structured solid materials. These new heterogenized cage materials also have been used successfully as recyclable catalysts.     

Stochastic simulations of polymer growth and isomerization in the polymerization of propylene catalyzed by Pd-based diimine catalysts

A model is presented that employs a stochastic approach to the simulation of polyolefin chain growth and isomerization. The model is applied to propylene polymerization catalyzed by Pd-based diimine catalysts. The stochastic approach links the microscopic (quantum chemical) approach with modeling of the macroscopic systems. The DFT calculated energies of the elementary reactions and their barriers have been used as input parameters for the simulations. The influence of the catalyst's steric bulk, as well as polymerization temperature and olefin pressure on the polymer branching and its microstructure, is discussed. The results are in good agreement with available experimental data. In the propylene polymerization catalyzed by Pd(II) complexes with methyl backbone- and -Ph-(i)Pr(2) imine substituents a number of branches of 238 branches/1000 C have been obtained. An increase in polymerization temperature leads to a decrease in the number of branches. Change in olefin pressure does not affect the global number of branches, while it strongly affects the polymer microstructure, leading to hyperbranched structures at low pressures. Further, the simulations confirm the experimental interpretation of the mechanistic details for this process: (1) both 1,2- and 2,1-insertion happen with the ratio of ca. 7:3; (2) there are no insertions at the secondary carbons; and (3) most of the 2,1-insertions are followed by a chain straightening isomerization. Thus, for this catalyst the total number of branches is controlled exclusively by the 1,2-/2,1-insertion ratio. For the catalysts with different substituents the branching can be controlled by a 1,2-/2,1-insertion ratio as well as the fraction of the insertions at the secondary carbons. The results of the present studies demonstrate that a stochastic approach can be successfully used to model the polyolefin microstructures and their catalyst, temperature, and pressure dependence. Further, it can also facilitate interpretation of the experimental results, and can be used to draw general conclusions about the influence of the specific elementary reaction barriers on the polymer structures; this can be helpful for a rational design of the catalysts producing a desired microstructure.     

不同聚合物分散剂对Pt/SAPO-11催化剂性能的影响

采用浸渍法制备了经过不同聚合物分散剂处理的Pt/SAPO-11催化剂，并通过X射线衍射(XRD)、透射电子显微镜(TEM)、N₂吸附-脱附和NH₃程序升温脱附(TPD)等对催化剂的组织结构进行了表征。结果表明，分散剂不会破坏催化剂的结构，反而提高了其孔体积、孔径和比表面积，同时改变了沸石的酸强度和酸量，其中以聚乙烯吡咯烷酮处理的Pt/SAPO-11催化剂孔体积、孔径和酸性分布最佳。在固定床反应器上对不同分散剂处理的Pt/SAPO-11催化剂催化性能进行评价，结果表明聚乙烯吡咯烷酮处理的Pt/SAPO-11催化剂也表现出最佳的催化性能，麻风树油的加氢脱氧率高达99.45%，生物航空煤油组分收率和异构烷烃组分(C₈~C₁₆)的选择性分别达到了44.67%和56.37%。     

不同聚合物分散剂对Pt/SAPO-11催化剂性能的影响

采用浸渍法制备了经过不同聚合物分散剂处理的Pt/SAPO-11催化剂,并通过X射线衍射(XRD)、透射电子显微镜(TEM)、N₂吸附-脱附和N_H3程序升温脱附(TPD)等对催化剂的组织结构进行了表征。结果表明,分散剂不会破坏催化剂的结构,反而提高了其孔体积、孔径和比表面积,同时改变了沸石的酸强度和酸量,其中以聚乙烯吡咯烷酮处理的Pt/SAPO-11催化剂孔体积、孔径和酸性分布最佳。在固定床反应器上对不同分散剂处理的Pt/SAPO-11催化剂催化性能进行评价,结果表明聚乙烯吡咯烷酮处理的Pt/SAPO-11催化剂也表现出最佳的催化性能,麻风树油的加氢脱氧率高达99.45%,生物航空煤油组分收率和异构烷烃组分(C₈~C₁₆)的选择性分别达到了44.67%和56.37%。     

不同聚合物分散剂对Pt/SAPO-11催化剂性能的影响

采用浸渍法制备了经过不同聚合物分散剂处理的Pt/SAPO-11催化剂,并通过X射线衍射(XRD)、透射电子显微镜(TEM)、N₂吸附-脱附和NH₃程序升温脱附(TPD)等对催化剂的组织结构进行了表征。结果表明,分散剂不会破坏催化剂的结构,反而提高了其孔体积、孔径和比表面积,同时改变了沸石的酸强度和酸量,其中以聚乙烯吡咯烷酮处理的Pt/SAPO-11催化剂孔体积、孔径和酸性分布最佳。在固定床反应器上对不同分散剂处理的Pt/SAPO-11催化剂催化性能进行评价,结果表明聚乙烯吡咯烷酮处理的Pt/SAPO-11催化剂也表现出最佳的催化性能,麻风树油的加氢脱氧率高达99.45%,生物航空煤油组分收率和异构烷烃组分(C₈~C₁₆)的选择性分别达到了44.67%和56.37%。     

Tertiary recycling of commingled polymer waste over commercial FCC equilibrium catalysts for producing hydrocarbons

A mixture of post-consumer polymer waste (PE/PP/PS) was pyrolysed over cracking catalysts using a fluidising reaction system similar to the FCC process operating isothermally at ambient pressure. Greater product selectivity was observed with a commercial FCC equilibrium catalyst (FCC-E1) with about 53 wt% olefin products in the C₃-C₆ range. Experiments carried out with various catalysts gave good yields of valuable hydrocarbons with differing selectivity in the final products dependent on reaction conditions. A kinetic model based on a lumping reaction scheme for the observed products and catalyst coking behaviours has been investigated. The model gave a good representation of experiment results. This model provides the benefits of lumping product selectivity, in each reaction step, in relation to the performance of the catalyst used and particle size selected as well as the effect of operation conditions, such as rate of fluidising gas and reaction temperature. It is demonstrated that under appropriate reaction temperatures and suitable catalysts can have the ability to control both the product yield and product distribution from polymer degradation, and can potentially lead to a cheaper process with more valuable products.     

Green polymer chemistry: new methods of polymer synthesis using renewable starting materials

The present article reviews the recent results reported mainly from our group on “green polymer chemistry”. Characteristic important aspects of green polymer chemistry include herein, typically (1) using renewable resources as starting materials for polymer production, and (2) employing green method for the polymer synthesis. As renewable starting materials, the following materials were employed; lactic acid, itaconic anhydride, renewable plant oils, and cardanol. Polymer production using these materials contributes to mitigate the carbon dioxide emission because of their “carbon neutral” nature. As green method, lipase enzyme was mainly used for polymerization catalyst, since lipase is a natural benign catalyst, showing a specific catalysis as well as recyclable character. Polymer synthesis from these materials and the catalyst provided various value-added functional polymers, demonstrating good examples of green polymer chemistry.

     

Green polymer chemistry using nature's catalysts,enzymes

The use of enzymes as catalysts for organic synthesis has become an increasingly attractive alternative to conventional chemical catalysis. Enzymes offer several advantages including high selectivity, ability to operate under mild conditions, catalyst recyclability, and biocompatibility. Although there are many examples in the literature involving enzymes for the synthesis of polymers, our search showed that very little had been done in the area of polymer modification. In this article, we will discuss enzyme catalysis in general and highlight our recent results concerning precision polymer functionalization using enzymatic catalysis—“green polymer chemistry.” © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 2959–2976, 2009     

High-throughput approaches for the discovery and optimization of new olefin polymerization catalysts

The discovery of new olefin polymerization catalysts is currently a time-intensive trial-and-error process with no guarantee of success. A fully integrated high-throughput screening workflow for the discovery of new catalysts for polyolefin production has been implemented at Symyx Technologies. The workflow includes the design of the metal-ligand libraries using custom-made computer software, automated delivery of metal precursors and ligands into the reactors using a liquid-handling robot, and a rapid primary screen that serves to assess the potential of each metalligand-activator combination as an olefin polymerization catalyst. "Hits" from the primary screen are subjected to secondary screens using a 48-cell parallel polymerization reactor. Individual polymerization reactions are monitored in real time under conditions that provide meaningful information about the performance capabilities of each catalyst. Rapid polymer characterization techniques support the primary and secondary screens. We have discovered many new and interesting catalyst classes using this technology.     

The discovery and progress of MgCl2‐supported TiCl4 catalysts

Polyolefins represented by polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) are indispensable materials in our daily lives. TiCl₃ catalysts, established by Ziegler and Natta in the 1950s, led to the births of the polyolefin industries. However, the activities and stereospecificities of the TiCl₃ catalysts were so low that steps for removing catalyst residues and low stereoregular PP were needed in the production of PE and PP. Our discovery of MgCl₂‐supported TiCl₄ catalysts led to more than 100 times higher activities and extremely high stereospecificities, which enabled us to dispense with the steps for the removals, meaning the process innovation. Furthermore, they narrowed the molecular weight and composition distributions of PE and PP, enabling us to control the polymer structures precisely and create such new products as very low density PE or heat‐sealable film at low temperature. The typical example of the product innovations by the combination of the high stereospecificity and the narrowed composition distribution is high‐performance impact copolymer used for an automobile bumper that used to be made of metal. These process and product innovations established these polyolefin industries. The latest MgCl₂‐supported TiCl₄ catalyst is very close to perfect control of isotactic PP structure and is expected to bring about further innovations. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 1–8, 2004     

Fabrication of Nanofillers into a Granular “Nanosupport” for Ziegler‐Natta Catalysts: Towards Scalable in situ Preparation of Polyolefin Nanocomposites

This communication reports a strategy for scale‐up of an in situ polymerization technique for polyolefin‐based nanocomposites preparation, taking layered silicate (clay) and multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as examples of nanofillers. The strategy is realized by transforming the nanofillers into granular “nanosupports” for Ziegler‐Natta catalysts. With a catalyst to polymer replication effect on particle morphology, the in situ prepared nanocomposites are of controlled granular particle morphology. With the polymer particle morphology controlled, the in situ polymerization technique becomes suitable for industrial olefin polymerization processes for mass production of polyolefin nanocomposites.

     

Post‐Metallocenes in the Industrial Production of Polyolefins

Research on “post‐metallocene” polymerization catalysis ranges methodologically from fundamental mechanistic studies of polymerization reactions over catalyst design to material properties of the polyolefins prepared. A common goal of these studies is the creation of practically useful new polyolefin materials or polymerization processes. This Review gives a comprehensive overview of post‐metallocene polymerization catalysts that have been put into practice. The decisive properties for this success of a given catalyst structure are delineated.     

How Ticl3 Catalysts Control the Texture of As-Polymerized Polypropylene

Within a family of catalyst systems wherein TiCl₃ was made by mixing TiCl₄ and aluminum alkyl solutions, the primary particles of TiCl₃ were usually thin, flat polygons with average diameters ranging from 300 to 1000 A. Even in unused catalyst these primary catalyst particles were bound together into large (～30 μ) secondary particles. A small amount of polyolefin which formed from the aluminum alkyl reducing agent aided in cementing the particles. When propylene monomer was introduced to a slurry of secondary catalyst particles in a liquid hydrocarbon, polymer formed at the surfaces of the ultimate solid particles. The resulting polymer flakes, i.e., particles of as-polymerized polypropylene, were several times larger than the secondary catalyst particles from which they grew but they retained the same shape. The primary catalyst particles, not visibly altered by the catalytic reaction which they propagated, were distributed uniformly throughout the flake polymer. Each polymer flake consisted of many thousands of cohering roundish flakelets about a 1/2 μ in diameter. How the flakelets are agglomerated and the extent to which they are coalesced accounts for the flakes' texture. The basic morular structure of the flakes, which was manifested further by their papillary surfaces, was not altered by purification procedures which removed catalyst from the nascent polymer. Although all the flakes had the same basic small-scale structure there were significant coarse textural dissimilarities among them. Some catalysts gave rise to flakes with an open porous texture: other catalysts gave rise to flakes which were dense and compact. In the former, the flakelets were less tightly appressed, and fissures and slits were larger and more numerous than in the latter. The genetic basis for the differences in flake texture resides in the parent catalyst. Secondary catalyst particles whose constituent primary particles are held together in a dense mass produce dense flakes. Conversely, loose aggregates of primary particles produce flakes with loosely aggregated flakelets. Briefly, dissimilarities in catalyst structure carry over to the texture of the flake progeny. Such textural differences contribute importantly to properties of the flake polymer.