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Organic Chemistry Seminar

Date:
-
Location:
CP-114B
Speaker(s) / Presenter(s):
Dr. Brian Long

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Dr. Brian Long of the University of Tennessee will be presenting a seminar titled Pushing the limits of α-diimine-based catalysts for olefin polymerization.

AbstractPolyolefins represent more than 50% of all commercial polymers produced in the US each year. This staggering number is due in part to their low-cost, excellent mechanical properties, and heavy utilization for a wide range of commodity applications. As the global demand for polyolefin-based materials steadily increase, researchers are pushed to develop innovative catalysts that produce polyolefins with enhanced or tailored physical and mechanical properties. A major breakthrough in this area was realized in the mid 1990's when late transition metal catalysts, namely Ni- and Pd-based α-diimine catalysts, were first reported. These catalysts presented numerous advantages over their early transition-metal-based counterparts, such as polar comonomer tolerance and the ability to produce a variety polymer topologies without the need to add costly comonomers. However, to date, many issues have prevented the industrial scale adoption of Ni- and Pd-based catalysts for the synthesis of high molecular weight polyolefins. To address these concerns, this presentation will describe our recent advances toward: 1) the development of thermally robust Ni(II) α-diimine catalysts that display near perfect thermal stability at temperatures as high as 90 °C, and 2) the development of redox-active Ni(II) α-diimine catalysts that may provide a unique route to the synthesis of elastomeric block copolymers.

Faculty Host: Dr. Susan Odom

Course Instructor: Dr. Mark Watson