Dow discovers new class of 'post-metallocene' olefin catalyst. (In Brief).

Dow Chemical Co., Midland, Mich., and chemical research firm Symyx Technologies, Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif., have jointly discovered a new class of non-metallocene, single-site catalysts for olefin polymerization. In a couple of months, Dow Plastics is expected to unveil new LLDPE resins produced with this catalyst.

According to James C. Stevens, Dow senior scientist for polyolefins and elastomers, new rapid-screening methods allow Dow and Symyx researchers to analyze large quantities of catalyst candidates and identify the most promising systems in a matter of hours. This process led to the quick discovery of the new amide-ether based hafnium catalysts; "Single-site, non-metallocene catalysts is a developing area and one that holds great promise for polyolefins research and development. Now that we have the ability to analyze these catalysts at the rate of about 1000 a day, new polyolefin catalysts can be discovered and optimized at unprecedented rates," says Stevens.

While metallocene catalysts are very versatile, the new non-metallocene single-site catalysts provide several advantages. "Their chemical synthesis is much more straightforward than that of the metallocene catalysts. There also more chemical functionalities in what I like to call 'post-metallocene' single-site catalysts."