Prof. John R. Bleeke and Dr. Regina F. Frey
Department of Chemistry
Washington University
St. Louis, Missouri 63130

A module developed with the support of The ChemLinks Coalition, funded by a grant from The Division of Undergraduate Education, National Science Foundation (# DUE-9455918)

Table of Contents

• Module Guidebook for Instructors

  1. Introduction to the Module
  2. Pre-requisites
  3. Audience
  4. Learning Strategies
  5. Core Concepts
  6. Pie Chart for the Module

• The Module

  Session 1: Introduction

  What are plastics and what gives them their unique properties?

  Session 2: Ethylene Polymerization

  How can ethylene molecules be joined together to form polyethylene polymer?

  Session 3: The Mechanism of Ethylene Polymerization Using a Homogeneous Zirconium Catalyst

  How do metal-based catalysts orchestrate the formation of polyethylene?

  Session 4: Polymerization of Substituted Olefins

  Besides polyethylene, what other kinds of polyolefin polymers are possible?

  Session 5: A Closer Look at the Polymerization of Propylene

  How can propylene molecules be joined together to form polypropylene chains?

  Session 6: The Mechanism of Propylene Polymerization Using a Homogeneous Zirconium Catalyst

  How do metal-based catalysts direct the polymerization of propylene monomers?

  Session 7: Polypropylene Polymerization Using Modified Homogeneous Zirconium Catalysts

  How can metal-based catalysts be designed to produce polypropylene with a highly regular arrangement of pendant methyl groups?

  Session 8: Conclusion

  Can you design a new polyolefin polymer and a catalyst to direct its synthesis?

  References

  Questions and Answers