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

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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.