Advances in polyolefin catalysis continue to allow for greater and greater control of polymer microstructures at a molecular level.  In recent years, the advent of metallocene catalysts has allowed for more homogeneous comonomer incorporation and highly-processable resins by introduction of polymer long chain branches.  More recently, several groups have focused on methods by which catalysts can work collaboratively to produce polymers with designed microstructures.  This work describes how such tandem catalysis can be used to construct polyethylene chains with controlled numbers and distributions of long chain branches across the polymer backbones.  The catalysis and process employed to manipulate the polymer microstructure, as well as analytical evidence for these tailored polymer molecules, will be presented in detail.  Finally, we will reveal how such precise control of polyolefin catalysis can result directly in modifications of bulk polymer properties such as the controlled increase in melt strength for polyethylene.

Reaching the branch point: How catalysts and process combine to produce the right molecules for the application

245th National Meeting (2013)

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