Transition Metals and Organometallics as Catalysts for Olefin Polymerization

The "International Symposium on Transition Metals and Organometallics as Catalysts for Olefin Polymerization" held in Hamburg from September 21 - 24, 1987 gives an overview of today's research for olefin polymerization with metalorganic compounds. The goal of the symposium was to show direction for further development of catalysts, to find proper methods in the determination of the number of active centres, to investigate the kinetics and the overall mechanism of the catalysis with heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysts, to provide with synthetic pathways for new polyolefins and copolymers with different properties, and finally to develop tools and techniques for a comprehensive characterization of the polymers. More than 30 years after the discovery of transition metals and organometallics as catalysts for olefin polymerization these catalysts have not lost their fascination. New impulses for olefinpolymerizations have been brought about by the discovery of the very high cocatalytic activity of alumoxanes instead of aluminumalkyls together with the soluble transition metal compounds of titanocene, zirconocene and hafnocene. The 41 contributions printed in this volume are arranged in four sections: Studies of the Active Sites, and Kinetics and Mechanism in Heterogeneous Catalysts - New Aspects in the Heterogeneous Catalysts Polymerization of Olefins - Homogeneous Catalysts for Olefin Polymerization - The Influence of the Reactor Design, Polyolefin Characterization.