Metallocene Catalysts Initiate New Era In Polymer Synthesis

Metallocene catalysts are "just a rumble on the tracks," says one industry consultant, "but it's certainly a train that's coming." The plastics industry, by most accounts, is moving into an era based on a new generation of catalysts and entirely new polymeric materials. To those most bullish on metallocene technology, the changes taking place in the plastics industry are among the most important in its history. In 1960, high-activity Ziegler-Natta catalysts catapulted the industry forward by making possible the inexpensive and easily controlled production of polyethylene and polypropylene. Today, more than 80 billion lb of polymers are produced worldwide with Ziegler-Natta technology. Now, with metallocene catalysts discovered in the 1980s, producers can refine, even design, the structure of polymers. Although based on transition metals such as titanium and zirconium—as are Ziegler-Natta catalysts—metallocenes differ in that they have well-defined single catalytic sites and well-understood molecular struc...