The Mechanism of the Phillip's Ethylene Polymerization Catalyst

Stiegman, Albert E.

Monday, June 15, 2015: 11:00 AM

408-410 (Lawrence Convention Center)

Carole Brown¹, Jerzy Krzystek², Riqiang Fu², Robert Meulenberg³, Susannah L. Scott⁴ and Albert E. Stiegman¹, (1)Florida State University, USA, (2)National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, USA, (3)University of Maine, USA, (4)University of California Santa Barbara, USA.

The complete mechanism for the Phillips' ethylene polymerization catalyst has been elucidated. The catalyst starts as chromium(VI) ions, deposited on silica, which are reduced under CO the an active Cr(II) pre-catalyst. The Cr(II) pre-catalyst reacts with ethylene to form a transient Cr(III) vinyl species, (-O)₂Cr-CH=CH₂, which is the active site.

Extended Abstracts:

Abstract NAM 2014(Stiegman).pdf (144.8KB) - Extended Abstract

O-M-408-5 The Mechanism of the Phillip's Ethylene Polymerization Catalyst