Understanding the Impacts of Lewis Acidity and Coordination on Butyl Rubber Polymerization

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From tires to bubble gum, butyl rubber has found abundant applications across the modern world. Unfortunately, the catalysts used to synthesize butyl rubber are not discreet complexes, but nebulous mixtures of Lewis acids and additives. This results in a reaction "black-box" which can limit reproducibility and inhibit study to improve the process. Arlanxeo is interested in gaining an understanding of what the actual nature of the current catalysts are, which will also assist in the process of developing new discreet Lewis acid catalysts for butyl rubber synthesis. The project will explore two objectives, the first will utilize frustrated Lewis pair chemistry to identify the active initiator species. This will allow for the design of more effective initiator systems for Arlanxeo. The second objective will take a systematic approach to explore the impacts of the coordinating ability of the anion on the polymerization reaction. By combining these data with our fluorescent Lewis adduct measurements, we hope to paint a complete picture of what factors influence butyl rubber initiation.