George Leonard Goeke

New Catalysis and Process for Ethylene Polymerization

Olefin polymerization catalysis continues to be a fertile area of research with worldwide participation in both industrial and academic laboratories.1–3 While much of this research has centered on methods to increase the productivity of catalysts, there has been and continues to be much active research on other features of olefin polymerization catalysis. The specific composition of the catalyst exerts an important effect on polymer molecular weight and molecular weight distribution (MWD), comonomer incorporation and copolymerization kinetics, and on the degree of stereoregularity. Moreover, the size, shape, and porosity (morphology) of the catalyst particle plays an important role in regulating the morphology of the resultant polymer. Development of low cost, reproducible processes for catalyst manufacture continues to be another important objective in catalyst research.4 The focus of industrial research in olefin polymerization catalysis centers on the chemistry and technology necessary to obtain simultaneously favorable catalyst responses in all of the areas described above.