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Polymers
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Polyolefins: The Ever-Thriving Thermoplastics
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Polyolefins: The Ever-Thriving Thermoplastics

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 July 2022) | Viewed by 7313

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Muhammad Atiqullah

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Interdisciplinary Research center for Refining & Advanced chemicals (IRCRAC), King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Interests: polyolefin catalyst; synthesis; characterization; and applications; synthetic lubricant; drag-reducing poly(a-olefin)
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Polyolefins are the largest volume thermoplastics. They are a highly topical and significantly important subject from an academic perspective as well as industrial perspective. Low-density polyethylene (LDPE), synthesized by Imperial Chemical Industry (ICI) scientists Gibson and Fawcett in the early 1930s, was the first and oldest member of polyolefin family. ICI commercialized LDPE production around the same time using a tubular reactor with a free-radical process, operating at very high pressure (20003500 bars) and temperatures above 200 C. Despite very harsh reactor conditions, the industrial level LDPE production has continued since its inception because of its versatile application and competitive market demand. After about two decades, the early 1950s witnessed an  ever-memorable era in polyolefin synthesis. Nobel Laureates Karl Ziegler (Germany) and Prof. Giulio Natta (Italy) made a breakthrough in the catalytic synthesis of polyethylene and polypropylene, respectively, using organoaluminum-activated titanium chlorides. On the other hand, Standard Oil and Phillips Petroleum researchers independently introduced a chromium catalyst to prepare high density polyethylene. This transition metal-catalyzed olefin polymerization route made industrial polyolefin synthesis possible at 1525 bars and 90120 C. These pioneering catalyst contributions have eventually revolutionized the emerging olefin polymerization organometallic catalysis and chemistry that we observe, read, and teach today. The overall impact on polyolefin education, research, training, manufacture process, industry, application, and worldwide business is too colossal to report. Polyolefins, as a highly prominent polymer and material science discipline, constitute an unending journey with unreachable destination. Therefore, it is highly necessary to share the growing knowledge and research takeaways and keepsakes with colleagues, researchers, and future generations. This is how polyolefins (an enduring success story, as of today), unlike many other polymer fields, have continued to sustain, expand, and thrive over the past 90 years. This is a rare scientific and technological example. Therefore, this Special Issue entitled “Polyolefins: The Ever-Thriving Thermoplastics” aims at publishing quality reviews and original research articles in the following areas:

  • Polyolefin catalysis, synthesis, and characterization;
  • Olefin polymerization mechanism, kinetics, and processes;
  • Polyolefin rheology and processing;
  • Polyolefin blends and composites;
  • Application and product design and development;
  • Polyolefin waste management.

It is strongly recommended that each contribution reflect new insight, novelty, technical advancement, and a valuable future research direction.

Prof. Dr. Muhammad Atiqullah
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • polyolefin catalysts and synthesis, characterization
  • polyolefin rheology and processing
  • polyolefin blends/composites
  • applications
  • polyolefin waste management
  • olefin polymerization mechanism, kinetics, and processes

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 4355 KiB  
Article
Experimental Study of Polypropylene with Additives of Bi2O3 Nanoparticles as Radiation-Shielding Materials
by Ahmed M. El-Khatib, Thanaa I. Shalaby, Ali Antar and Mohamed Elsafi
Polymers 2022, 14(11), 2253; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14112253 - 31 May 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 1726
Abstract
This work aimed to intensively study polypropylene samples (PP) embedded with micro- and nanoparticles of Bi2O3 for their application in radiation shielding. Samples were prepared by adding 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50% of Bi2O3 microparticles (mBi [...] Read more.
This work aimed to intensively study polypropylene samples (PP) embedded with micro- and nanoparticles of Bi2O3 for their application in radiation shielding. Samples were prepared by adding 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50% of Bi2O3 microparticles (mBi2O3) by weight, and adding 10% and 50% of Bi2O3 nanoparticles (nBi2O3), in addition to the control sample (pure polypropylene). The morphology of the prepared samples was tested, and also, the shielding efficiency of gamma rays was tested for different sources with different energies. The experimental LAC were determined using a NaI scintillation detector, the experimental results were compared with NIST-XCOM results, and a good agreement was noticed. The LAC values have been used to calculate some specific parameters, such as half value layer (HVL), mean free path (MFP), tenth value layer (TVL), and radiation protection efficiency (RPE), which are useful for discussing the shielding capabilities of gamma rays. The results of the shielding parameters show that the PP embedded with nBi2O3 gives better attenuation than its counterpart, PP embedded with mBi2O3, at all studied energies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polyolefins: The Ever-Thriving Thermoplastics)
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9 pages, 1069 KiB  
Article
Meso- and Rac-[bis(3-phenyl-6-tert-butylinden-1-yl)dimethylsilyl]zirconium Dichloride: Precatalysts for the Production of Differentiated Polyethylene Products with Enhanced Properties
by Kaitie A. Giffin, Virginie Cirriez, Orlando Santoro, Alexandre Welle, Evgueni Kirillov and Jean-François Carpentier
Polymers 2022, 14(11), 2217; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14112217 - 30 May 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2128
Abstract
Ansa-zirconocene complexes are widely employed as precatalysts for olefin polymerization. Their synthesis generally leads to mixtures of their rac and meso isomers, whose separation is often problematic. In this contribution, we report on the synthesis of a novel silyl-bridged bis(indenyl)-based metallocene, and [...] Read more.
Ansa-zirconocene complexes are widely employed as precatalysts for olefin polymerization. Their synthesis generally leads to mixtures of their rac and meso isomers, whose separation is often problematic. In this contribution, we report on the synthesis of a novel silyl-bridged bis(indenyl)-based metallocene, and on the separation of its rac and meso isomers by simple recrystallization from toluene. The two complexes, activated by methylaluminoxane (MAO), have been used as precatalysts in ethylene/1-hexene copolymerization. Regardless of the reaction conditions, the meso complex outperformed its rac congener. A similar trend was observed by performing the process in the presence of the silica-supported versions of the complexes. This is remarkable, since meso metallocenes generally display lower activities than their rac analogues. Furthermore, the meso isomer generates polymer products that are more in line with the targets for the preparation of a bimodal PE grade made of a lower-MW high-density (HDPE) fraction and a higher-MW linear low-density (LLDPE) fraction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polyolefins: The Ever-Thriving Thermoplastics)
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12 pages, 1357 KiB  
Article
Enhancing Mechanical Properties of Graft-Type Nanocomposites Using Organically Modified SiO2 and Polypropylene Containing Reactive Methoxy Groups
by Dongzhi Zhu, Eiji Kurahashi, Hui You, Toru Wada, Patchanee Chammingkwan and Toshiaki Taniike
Polymers 2022, 14(3), 563; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14030563 - 30 Jan 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2937
Abstract
In situ grafting of a reactive matrix and nanofillers is a promising strategy to fabricate graft-type polypropylene (PP)-based nanocomposites, where the grafting efficiency is affected by the initial dispersion of nanofillers in the matrix. In this work, influences of surface organic modification of [...] Read more.
In situ grafting of a reactive matrix and nanofillers is a promising strategy to fabricate graft-type polypropylene (PP)-based nanocomposites, where the grafting efficiency is affected by the initial dispersion of nanofillers in the matrix. In this work, influences of surface organic modification of nanofillers were investigated on properties of PP/SiO2 nanocomposites using poly(propylene-co-octenyltrimethoxysilane) as a reactive matrix. The surface modification of SiO2, especially with longer alkyl chains, led to improved dispersion of nanoparticles, thus promoting the grafting reaction and mechanical properties. The combination of in situ grafting and surface modification of nanofillers provided several benefits, most notably in balancing the strength and the toughness, which could not be achieved by the grafting alone. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polyolefins: The Ever-Thriving Thermoplastics)
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