Polyolefins

Polyolefins are the only class of macromolecules which can be produced catalytically with precise control of stereochemistry and, to a large extent, of (co)monomer sequence distribution. Therefore the number of constituent elements which can be assembled into meaningfully organised structures is practically infinite. In fact, polyolefin-based materials can be tailor-made for a wide range of applications: from ultra-rigid thermoplastics to high-performance elastomers. This vastly different performance is achieved by a variety of polyolefin molecular structures, whose common features are full atom economy in their synthesis, low cost, excellence in performance, long life cycle and ease of recycling.The research programme of the Polyolefins’ Technology Area addresses the complete chain of knowledge in full width and depth, aiming at proficiency in the ever expanding applications of the polyolefin polymers. Although polyolefins represent one of the oldest (if not the oldest) thermoplastic polymer families, they are still very much characterised by innovations that provide new applications through stepwise and continuous technology renewal and that reduce the eco-footprint during manufacture and use.

Subprogrammes

Catalysis
Investigation, screening and development of novel homogeneous and heterogeneous catalyst systems, new approaches for the immobilisation and activation of heterogeneous and single site catalysts for polefins (co)polymerisation.
Polymer structure, properties and processing
Understanding, modelling and predicting structure-processing-property relationships of polyolefin polymer systems.
Polymer reactor engineering
Studies on various reactor and technology unit operations to produce a quantitative description and acquire a thorough understanding of the crucial aspects of polymerisation processes.
New methods and exploratory research
New characterisation and polymerisation methods, high-throughput screening and experimentation, embryonic research and concept development.

Cases