Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Kinetics And Mechanisms Of Amine Bis-Phenolate Polymerization Catalysts Featuring Titanium, Zirconium, Or Hafnium Centers, Paul Daniel Pletcher

Open Access Dissertations

The story of Group IV metallocene polymerization catalysts has been a tremendous success in the ability to tune chemical reactivity through structural design. As new, nonmetallocene catalyst systems are being investigated, there has been a lack of quantitative relationships for predicting optimal catalyst design for both desired reactivity and polymeric properties. By utilizing a rational catalyst design strategy that focuses on obtaining a quantitative kinetic analysis of all relevant chemical steps from a family of related catalysts, we have attempted to correlate the fundamental reactivity within the olefin polymerization mechanism to distinctive chemical structures. Such studies have revealed both predictive, …