New Strategies for Olefin Copolymerization

罗伯特·韦茅斯斯坦福大学论文题目：烯烃共聚的新策略论文编号：CHE-0611563摘要该奖项授予斯坦福大学的罗伯特·韦茅斯，其目标是发现烯烃聚合中催化反应的新模式。一个具体的目标是使用所谓的流动催化剂，从现成的单体原料中生产新的聚合物材料。第二个目标是开发用于某些类型的单体共聚的催化剂，这些单体目前与大多数配位催化剂不相容。更具体地说，将使用实验和理论方法相结合的方法来了解这些反应是如何发生的，以便开发更多、更活性的催化剂。此外，还将产生能够生产间规(立体规整)聚苯乙烯/α-烯烃共聚物和嵌段共聚物的新型催化剂。预计1)对这种聚合行为作为配位化合物构象偏好和动力学函数的详细理解的发展将为开发新的催化方法提供合理的基础，2)可逆键断裂应用于钛(III)和钛(IV)催化剂的相互转化将为催化提供新的范式和调节配位络合物中的氧化/还原平衡的新策略，以及3)所制备的新材料将为研究聚合物的结构如何影响其性能提供新的机会。更广泛的影响。由于烯烃的催化聚合是一个每年生产超过1000亿磅聚烯烃的行业的基础，预计拟议的研究将产生巨大的科学和经济影响。学生将从事一个高度交叉的研究领域，该领域结合了有机和有机金属合成和机械化学、计算方法、催化烯烃聚合以及聚合物结构和性能的研究，因此他们将得到非常广泛的教育。与过去一样，韦茅斯教授将在招收和辅导代表不足的少数族裔、残疾学生和女性学生方面发挥积极作用。

Robert WaymouthStanford UniversityProposal Title: New Strategies for Olefin CopolymerizationProposal Number: CHE-0611563AbstractThis award to Robert Waymouth of Stanford University has as its goal the discovery of new patterns of catalytic reactivity in the polymerization of olefins. A specific objective is to use what are called fluxional catalysts to produce new polymeric materials from readily available monomer feedstocks. A second objective is to develop catalysts for the copolymerization of certain types of monomers that are currently incompatible with most coordination catalysts. More specifically a combination of experimental and theoretical methods will be used to understand how these reactions occur in order to develop additional, more active catalysts. In addition new classes of catalysts capable of producing syndiotactic (stereoregular) polystyrene/alpha-olefin copolymers and block copolymers will be generated. It is anticipated 1) that development of a detailed understanding of this polymerization behavior as a function of the conformational preferences and dynamics of coordination compounds will provide a rational basis for developing new methods in catalysis, 2) that the application of reversible bond cleavage to interconvert Ti(III) and Ti(IV) catalysts will provide a new paradigm for catalysis and a new strategy for mediating oxidation/reduction equilibria in coordination complexes, and 3) that the new materials prepared will provide new opportunities for investigating how the structure of polymers influences their properties. Broader Impacts. Since the catalytic polymerization of olefins is the basis of an industry that produces over 100 billion lbs of polyolefins per year, it is anticipated that the proposed studies will have a huge scientific and economic impact. Students will be engaged in a highly interdisciplinary research area that combines organic and organometallic synthetic and mechanistic chemistry, computational methods, catalytic olefin polymerization, and the study of polymer structure and properties and thus they will get a very broad education. As in the past, Prof. Waymouth will take an active role in recruiting and mentoring underrepresented minority, disabled and female students.