Catalytic olefin polymerization is a mature field. Isn't it?

In spite of the reputation to be a mature area, Ziegler-Natta olefin polymerization continues to produce scientific and industrial breakthroughs at a surprising pace. The massive introduction of High Throughput Screening technologies has accelerated the innovation process even further. This Highlight aims at introducing the reader to a number of very recent publications in which novel metallocene and non-metallocene ("post-metallocene") olefin polymerization catalysts, and new concepts of chain growth in insertion polymerization, are disclosed and elegantly and convincingly discussed.

[1]  L. Resconi,et al.  Metallocene Catalysts for 1‐Butene Polymerization , 2006 .

[2]  Huifeng Qian,et al.  A resonance energy transfer between chemiluminescent donors and luminescent quantum-dots as acceptors (CRET). , 2006, Angewandte Chemie.

[3]  Anne M. LaPointe,et al.  Nonconventional catalysts for isotactic propene polymerization in solution developed by using high-throughput-screening technologies. , 2006, Angewandte Chemie.

[4]  P. Hustad,et al.  Catalytic Production of Olefin Block Copolymers via Chain Shuttling Polymerization , 2006, Science.

[5]  L. Sita,et al.  Discrete, multiblock isotactic-atactic stereoblock polypropene microstructures of differing block architectures through programmable stereomodulated living Ziegler-Natta polymerization. , 2006, Angewandte Chemie.

[6]  G. Coates,et al.  A C2-Symmetric, Living α-Diimine Ni(II) Catalyst: Regioblock Copolymers from Propylene , 2005 .

[7]  G. Britovsek,et al.  Polyethylene chain growth on zinc catalyzed by olefin polymerization catalysts: a comparative investigation of highly active catalyst systems across the transition series. , 2005, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[8]  G. Talarico,et al.  Living Ziegler-Natta Polymerizations: True or False? , 2005 .

[9]  G. Talarico,et al.  Block Copolymers of Highly Isotactic Polypropylene via Controlled Ziegler−Natta Polymerization , 2004 .

[10]  L. Sita,et al.  Degenerative transfer living Ziegler-Natta polymerization: application to the synthesis of monomodal stereoblock polyolefins of narrow polydispersity and tunable block length. , 2003, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[11]  V. C. Gibson,et al.  Advances in non-metallocene olefin polymerization catalysis. , 2003, Chemical reviews.

[12]  G. Coates,et al.  Catalysts for the living insertion polymerization of alkenes: access to new polyolefin architectures using Ziegler-Natta chemistry. , 2002, Angewandte Chemie.

[13]  L. Cavallo,et al.  Selectivity in propene polymerization with metallocene catalysts. , 2000, Chemical reviews.

[14]  Deyue Yan,et al.  Kinetic Analysis of "Living" Polymerization Processes Exhibiting Slow Equilibria. 1. Degenerative Transfer (Direct Activity Exchange between Active and "Dormant" Species). Application to Group Transfer Polymerization , 1995 .

[15]  G. Coates,et al.  Oscillating Stereocontrol: A Strategy for the Synthesis of Thermoplastic Elastomeric Polypropylene , 1995, Science.