Sciencemadness Discussion Board

how to make Polypropylene in lab?

chembook - 29-10-2005 at 02:11

I'd like to know how to produce PP by Ziegler-natta catalyst in lab. Pls help!!!
Thanks

[Edited on 29-10-2005 by chembook]

vulture - 29-10-2005 at 08:14

http://www.google.be/search?hs=yLD&hl=nl&client=fire...

www.justfuckinggoogleit.com

chembook - 3-11-2005 at 03:08

Thx, but it doesn't help me so much. Pls give me more details. Does this work (making PP in lab) cost so much?

DrP - 3-11-2005 at 07:31

Take your Ziegler-Natta catalyst, usually TiCl3 or TiCl4, along with an aluminum based co-catalyst, and place in the monomer at midnight on the night of the full moon. Then place the beaker on the ground in a circle of lighted candles, and then write the word "isotactic" or "syndiotactic", depending of the tacticity you desire, in runic letters on the side of the beaker with the blood of a freshly slain goat. The goat must be less than one year old, and without blemish. Then one must recite aloud the Ziegler-Natta incantation seven times, followed by the tacticity dance. If the polymerization is successful, a cold and violent wind will quickly arise and extinguish the candles, and then die away as quickly as it arose. It is important that one fast for three days before and after carrying out the ceremony. :)


No but seriously - try http://www.pslc.ws/mactest/ziegler.htm#pol it explains it there (got from Vultures search!) I expect you'll have to play with initiator (catalyst concentrations) to get the desired molecular weight - do a few runs and plot a graph of conc vs molecular weight and then select your final conc from the graph where it corresponds to your chosen MW. (Presuming you have a GPC or Light scattering gear for MW - otherwise look it up somewhere else - took me 30 seconds to find this - spend 5 mins searching and you may get info about the initiator concentrations you'll need to obtain your desired MW)

[Edited on 3-11-2005 by DrP]

DrP - 3-11-2005 at 09:25

Here you are:

https://www.chem.ubc.ca/faculty/wassell/CHEM415MANUAL/Experi...

Dr. Beaker - 3-11-2005 at 17:36

this happens to be the research field of my PhD...:D
what king of pp you want to make?
iPP, sPP, aPP elastomeric?
block polymer? etc. whould you consider homogenous or hetero catalyst?
please specify.

Dr. Beaker - 3-11-2005 at 17:39

for the mean time...
some refferences of Ziegler and natta's original work:
1 a) K. Ziegler, E. Holzkamp, H. Breil, H. Martin, Angew. Chem. 67(1955) 426;
b) K. Ziegler, E. Holzkamp, H. Breil, H. Martin, Angew. Chem. 67(1955) 541;
2 a) G. Natta, P. Pino, P. Corradini, F. Danusso, E. Mantica, G. Mazzanti, G. Moraglio, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1955, 77, 1708-10.
b) G. Natta, Angew. Chem. 68 (1956) 393;
3 G. Natta, I. Pasquon, and A. Zambelli, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 84, 1488 (1962).

DrP - 4-11-2005 at 01:55

Dr. Beaker, Can it be done by ATRP? or is this just for the block copolymers. Surley it would be an easier reaction.

chembook - 4-11-2005 at 02:22

Thanks for all ur help, what a great forum! I'll try to make PE following the "experiment 9".

Dr. Beaker - 4-11-2005 at 02:59

by using radical polymerization you can't usually have control over regio and stereochemisrty of the pp obtained.
ZN type catalysts (like metallocenes, PHI and so on) are unique in this matter.
the pp U'll get from radical pol. will probably be atactic, low MW pp i.e oily and (for most matters) useless material.
again - it all depends on the type of meterial you want.
I don't think you'll bother that much to produce oily polymer