Carbon and hydrogen, organized appropriately, have generated a massive global industry with products touching most aspects of modern life. Three quarters of a century later, scientists are still able to extract additional performance from these diminutive polymer chains. Our search for ways to craft polyethylene with a better balance of flexibility and heat resistance led to some fascinating discoveries in catalysis and polymer materials science. We discovered certain advanced homogeneous catalysts are capable of reversible chain transfer to certain metal alkyl species; this so-called chain shuttling catalysis enables the synthesis of block copolymers from simple olefinic feedstocks in a catalytic fashion. Enabled by these inventions, The Dow Chemical Company commercialized INFUSE<sup>TM</sup> Olefin Block Copolymers and INTUNE<sup>TM</sup> Olefin Block Copolymers. These new materials have unique morphologies as a consequence of their block structure. Several aspects of these materials will be discussed with particular emphasis on their unique characteristics that enable them to perform in a range of applications previously inaccessible to polyolefins.

Synthesis, materials science, and applications of olefin block copolymers prepared by chain shuttling catalysis

256th National Meeting (2018)

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