Mechanistic Investigation of Amidinate-Based Catalysts for Living Ziegler-Natta Polymerization

无机化学、生物无机化学和金属有机化学项目的这一奖项支持马里兰大学园区分校的劳伦斯·西塔，以表彰他在酰胺基烯烃聚合催化剂方面的工作。环戊二烯基二甲基乙酰胺锆乙酸酯等化合物被硼酸盐助催化剂活化，以提供活性物种，促进烯烃的立体专一性活性Ziegler-Natta聚合和非共轭双烯的活性环聚。将设计、合成和评估新的催化剂。动力学分析将探索详细的机制，包括识别控制不断增长的聚合物链的立体化学的因素。聚烯烃是一大类商业塑料，包括聚乙烯和聚丙烯。嵌段共聚物通常表现出理想的性能，如弹性、结晶度、热塑性和溶解性。这些新型特种塑料用于包装、电子和纺织行业。茂金属和酰胺酸酯催化剂提供了合成新型和有用的聚烯烃的途径。

This award in the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry Program supports Lawrence Sita, University of Maryland College Park, for work on amidinate-based olefin polymerization catalysts. Compounds such as cyclopentadienyl dimethyl zirconium acetamidinate are activated with borate cocatalysts to provide an active species that promotes the stereospecific living Ziegler-Natta polymerization of olefins and the living cyclopolymerization of non-conjugated dienes. New catalysts will be designed, synthesized and evaluated. Kinetic analyses will probe the detailed mechanism, including identification of factors that control the stereochemistry of the growing polymer chain. Polyolefins are a large class of commercial plastics that includes polyethylene and polypropylene. Block copolymers often show desirable properties such as elasticity, crystallinity, thermoplasticity and solubility. These new specialty plastics are used in the packaging, electronics and textile industries. Metallocene and amidinate catalysts provide routes into new and useful polyolefins.