Ziegler-Natta Catalysts and Polymerizations reviews the general aspects of Ziegler-Natta catalysts and polymerizations of olefins, dienes, and many other types of monomers. Topics covered include the physical state of the polymer during polymerization; modification of Ziegler-Natta catalysts by third components; and termination of polymer chain growth. The oxidation state of catalysts and active centers is also discussed, along with copolymerizations and block polymerizations. This book is comprised of 23 chapters and begins with an overview of Ziegler-Natta catalysts and polymerizations, their historical origins, scientific and commercial importance, and major advances in polymer science. The next chapter focuses on definitions and stereochemistry of Ziegler-Natta catalysts, together with analytical methods used to identify and quantitatively measure their structures. Some of the polymers produced commercially with Ziegler-Natta catalysts are considered. The discussion then turns to mechanisms for initiating and propagating olefins; mechanisms for stereochemical control of conjugated and nonconjugated dienes; and the basic kinetic parameters that characterize Ziegler-Natta polymerizations. This monograph is written especially for chemistry and engineering graduate students and for industrial chemists, engineers, and managers who may become involved in a Ziegler-Natta problem.

With an enormous velocity, olefin polymerization has expanded to one of the most significant fields in polymers since the first industrial use about 50 years ago. In 2005, 100 million tons of polyolefins were produced - the biggest part was catalyzed by metallorganic compounds. The Hamburg Macromolecular Symposium 2005 with the title "Olefin Polymerization" involved topics such as new catalysts and cocatalysts, kinetics, mechanism and polymer reaction engineering, synthesis of special polymers, and characterization of polyolefins. The conference combined scientists from different disciplines to discuss latest research results of polymers and to offer each other the possibility of cooperation. This is reflected in this volume, which contains invited lectures and selected posters presented at the symposium.

Including recent advances and historically important catalysts, this book overviews methods for developing and applying polymerization catalysts – dealing with polymerization catalysts that afford commercially acceptable high yields of polymer with respect to catalyst mass or productivity. • Contains the valuable data needed to reproduce syntheses or use the catalyst for new applications • Offers a guide to the design and synthesis of catalysts, and their applications in synthesis of polymers • Includes the information essential for choosing the appropriate reactions to maximize yield of polymer synthesized • Presents new chapters on vanadium catalysts, Ziegler catalysts, laboratory homopolymerization, and copolymerization

Over the past century, heterogeneous catalysis has played a central role in the development of efficient chemical processes for the conversion of fossil resources to fuels and chemicals, and identification of new, sustainable routes to upgrade renewable carbon sources that minimize the ecological footprint. More recently, unprecedented advances in electronic structure theory and related computational methods have provided a major thrust to the efforts that utilize density function theory (DFT) calculations for developing fundamental atomic-level understanding of these processes, and subsequently designing new and improved catalysts. In this dissertation, a combined theoretical and experimental approach is presented to study the reaction mechanisms for the catalytic conversion of formic acid (FA) and propylene oxide on transition metals. An iterative methodology comprising of DFT calculations, reaction kinetics measurements, and mean-field microkinetic modeling is employed to determine the nature of active sites on supported catalysts, explain the experimentally observed trends, and obtain predictions for the surface environment under reaction conditions. A detailed analysis of the DFT derived thermochemistry and kinetics parameters over a wide range of transition metal surfaces is performed to identify the key reactivity descriptors for FA decomposition on transition metal catalysts, and develop semi-empirical linear correlations that are then used to develop a microkinetic modeling based framework for the identification and design of improved (active and selective) bimetallic alloy catalysts. Finally, the possible utilization and applications of these methods and ideas in other key chemical transformations are proposed, and suggestions for future work are included.

Helps researchers develop new catalysts for sustainable fueland chemical production Reviewing the latest developments in the field, this bookexplores the in-situ characterization of heterogeneous catalysts,enabling readers to take full advantage of the sophisticatedtechniques used to study heterogeneous catalysts and reactionmechanisms. In using these techniques, readers can learn to improvethe selectivity and the performance of catalysts and how to preparecatalysts as efficiently as possible, with minimum waste. In-situ Characterization of Heterogeneous Catalysts featurescontributions from leading experts in the field of catalysis. Itbegins with an introduction to the fundamentals and thencovers: Characterization of electronic and structural properties ofcatalysts using X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy Techniques for structural characterization based on X-raydiffraction, neutron scattering, and pair distribution functionanalysis Microscopy and morphological studies Techniques for studying the interaction of adsorbates withcatalyst surfaces, including infrared spectroscopy, Ramanspectroscopy, EPR, and moderate pressure XPS Integration of techniques that provide information on thestructural properties of catalysts with techniques that facilitatethe study of surface reactions Throughout the book, detailed examples illustrate how techniquesfor studying catalysts and reaction mechanisms can be applied tosolve a broad range of problems in heterogeneous catalysis.Detailed figures help readers better understand how and why thetechniques discussed in the book work. At the end of each chapter,an extensive set of references leads to the primary literature inthe field. By explaining step by step modern techniques for the in-situcharacterization of heterogeneous catalysts, this book enableschemical scientists and engineers to better understand catalystbehavior and design new catalysts for green, sustainable fuel andchemical production.