Generation of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene from metallocenes immobilized onto N-doped graphene nanoplatelets.

Catalytic natures of organometallic catalysts are modulated by coordinating organic ligands with proper steric and electronic properties to metal centers. Carbon-based nanomaterials such as graphene nanoplatelets are used with and without N-doping and multiwalled carbon nanotube as a ligand for ethylene polymerizations. Zirconocenes or titanocenes are immobilized on such nanomaterials. Polyethylenes (PEs) produced by such hybrids show a great increase in molecular weight relative to those produced by free catalysts. Specially, ultra-high-molecular-weight PEs are produced from the polymerizations at low temperature using the hybrid with N-doped graphene nanoplatelets. This result shows that such nanomaterials act a crucial role to tune the catalytic natures of metallocenes.