King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals

King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology

Abdul Kaleel Sulaiman Haniffa

Mamdouh Ahmad Al-Harthi

Sadhan Kumar De

Masihullah Jabarulla Khan

Bijal Kottukkal Bahuleyan

The method of promoting olefin polymerization uses a nanoparticle filler to increase the activity of a metallocene catalyst for in situ polymerization of polyolefins. The filler may be nanoparticles of manganese, or nanoparticles of manganese-doped titanium dioxide. The method includes the steps of (a) mixing a metallocene catalyst, e.g., zirconocene dichloride, with nanoparticles of the filler in an organic solvent, e.g., toluene, in a reactor to form a reaction mixture; (b) immersing the reactor in a temperature bath for a period of time sufficient to bring the mixture to an optimal polymerization reaction temperature; (c) adding monomer to the mixture in the reactor; (d) adding methylaluminoxane (MAO) as a co-catalyst to the reaction mixture to initiate polymerization; and (e) quenching the polymerization, e.g., by adding methanol containing 5% hydrochloric acid by volume to the reactor.

Growing community of inventors

Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

Abdul Kaleel Sulaiman Haniffa