6 Outlook
Discovery of low pressure polyethylene and isotactic polypropylene 60 years ago
started a material revolution that has improved the quality of life for nearly all
people on earth. Today, these polyolefin materials account for more than 50% of all
synthetic materials produced, ranging from commodities to various engineering
level materials. The common denominator for all high-end polyolefin materials is
the use of the most advanced catalyst and process technologies for manufacturing.
Further novel uses of polyolefins, as described in this paper, will most likely
include their use in various composite and nanocomposite materials to further drive
material property improvements. With the help of functional copolymers,
polyolefins can be used in high purity applications through excellent polymer
structure control, and in highly sophisticated polymer property/processing
combinations where materials have been precisely developed to the specific application with the help of catalyst and process technologies.
Generally speaking, the polyolefin materials and catalysts reviewed here represent latest developments that have only partly been developed to the commercial
scale. They still require optimization of the combination of feasible manufacturing
and improvement in material properties. Further development is needed in adapting
these novel polymerization techniques and catalyst systems to commercial scale
operating conditions, while keeping in mind that existing polyolefin materials enjoy
the benefits of scale that new developments need to overcome to find their way onto
the market.
Even though these materials face challenges in replacing the existing high-end
polyolefin materials, it is foreseen that many of these latest generation polyolefinbased materials will find their way to the people thanks to the feedstock availability,
inertness, light weight, and facile large scale manufacturing technologies that gives
them advantages over many other materials that have been around us for much
longer than 60 years.
References
1. Severn JR, Chadwick JC (2008) Tailor-made polyolefins. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim
2. Kaminsky W (2004) J Polym Sci A 42:3911–3921
3. Mu ¨lhaupt R (2003) Macromol Chem Phys 204:289–327
4. Hoff R, Mathers RT (eds) (2010) Handbook of transition metal catalysts. Wiley, Hoboken
5. Koivuma ¨ki J, Fink G, Seppa ¨la ¨ JV (1994) Macromolecules 27:6254–6258
6. Shiono T, Moriki Y, Soga K (1995) Macromol Symp 97:161–170
7. Imanishi Y, Naga N (2001) Prog Polym Sci 26:1147–1198
8. Shaffer TD, Canich JAM, Squire KR (1998) Macromolecules 31:5145–5147
9. Lai SY, Wilson JR, Knight GW, Stevens JC, Chum P-WS, Dow Chemical Company (1991)
Elastic substantially linear olefin polymers. US Patent 5,272,236
Functional Polyolefins Through Polymerizations by Using Bis(indenyl). . .
227
Discovery of low pressure polyethylene and isotactic polypropylene 60 years ago
started a material revolution that has improved the quality of life for nearly all
people on earth. Today, these polyolefin materials account for more than 50% of all
synthetic materials produced, ranging from commodities to various engineering
level materials. The common denominator for all high-end polyolefin materials is
the use of the most advanced catalyst and process technologies for manufacturing.
Further novel uses of polyolefins, as described in this paper, will most likely
include their use in various composite and nanocomposite materials to further drive
material property improvements. With the help of functional copolymers,
polyolefins can be used in high purity applications through excellent polymer
structure control, and in highly sophisticated polymer property/processing
combinations where materials have been precisely developed to the specific application with the help of catalyst and process technologies.
Generally speaking, the polyolefin materials and catalysts reviewed here represent latest developments that have only partly been developed to the commercial
scale. They still require optimization of the combination of feasible manufacturing
and improvement in material properties. Further development is needed in adapting
these novel polymerization techniques and catalyst systems to commercial scale
operating conditions, while keeping in mind that existing polyolefin materials enjoy
the benefits of scale that new developments need to overcome to find their way onto
the market.
Even though these materials face challenges in replacing the existing high-end
polyolefin materials, it is foreseen that many of these latest generation polyolefinbased materials will find their way to the people thanks to the feedstock availability,
inertness, light weight, and facile large scale manufacturing technologies that gives
them advantages over many other materials that have been around us for much
longer than 60 years.
References
1. Severn JR, Chadwick JC (2008) Tailor-made polyolefins. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim
2. Kaminsky W (2004) J Polym Sci A 42:3911–3921
3. Mu ¨lhaupt R (2003) Macromol Chem Phys 204:289–327
4. Hoff R, Mathers RT (eds) (2010) Handbook of transition metal catalysts. Wiley, Hoboken
5. Koivuma ¨ki J, Fink G, Seppa ¨la ¨ JV (1994) Macromolecules 27:6254–6258
6. Shiono T, Moriki Y, Soga K (1995) Macromol Symp 97:161–170
7. Imanishi Y, Naga N (2001) Prog Polym Sci 26:1147–1198
8. Shaffer TD, Canich JAM, Squire KR (1998) Macromolecules 31:5145–5147
9. Lai SY, Wilson JR, Knight GW, Stevens JC, Chum P-WS, Dow Chemical Company (1991)
Elastic substantially linear olefin polymers. US Patent 5,272,236
Functional Polyolefins Through Polymerizations by Using Bis(indenyl). . .
227