This multidisciplinary review explains how to engineer and produce materials with superior, well-defined properties. Organized in four major sections — materials, properties, processing, and markets — it discusses polyolefins, polystyrene, EPDM, morphology, melt rheology, crystallinity, blown film processing, and much more. This volume contains fifty peer-reviewed chapters, offering insights into applications in automotive components, food packaging, insulating films, non-woven fabrics, and medical devices, among others.

From the Foreword: “...The phrase `Metallocence Revolution' was coined to explain the enormous changes brought about to polyolefin preparation and design as a result of the discovery and development of the metallocence catalysts. Initially the excitement in metallocences was limited to their ability to homopolymerize ethylene at unprecedented rates, but over the last several years it has become overly clear that metallocene catalysts (by virture of their well-characterized, homogeneous nature) offer the ability for rational design and tailoring of the catalysts...”

Target Audience: Scientists and technologists in industry and academia seeking to understand and develop new processes and applications in metallocene-catalyzed polymer technology.

Partial Table of Contents:

Economic Factors for the Production of Metallocene and Perfluorinated Cocatalysts

Polypropylene Reinvented — Cost of Using Metallocene Catalysts

New Approaches for Ziegler-Natta Catalysts for Polypropylene

High Moleculer Weight Atactic Polypropylene from Metallocene Catalysts: Influence of Ligand Structure and Polymerization Conditions on Molecular Weight

The Renaissance in Polyolefin Manufacturing Technology

Mixed Metallocenes for Designer Polymers

Semicrystalline Polyolefins — Narrow MWD and Long Chain Branching: Best of Both Worlds

Melt Rheology and Processability of Ethylene/Styrene Interpolymers

The Performance of Primary and Secondary Antioxidants in Polyolefins Produced with Metallocene Catalysts, Part 1: Preliminary Studies Comparing m-Syndiotactic and Isotactic Polypropylenes

Frictional Behavior of Polyethylenes with Respect to Density and Melting Characteristics

Processing Characteristics of Metallocene Propylene Homopolymers

Potential Film Applications of Metallocene-based Propylene Polymers from Exxpol Catalysis

Effect of Various Polyethylene Structures on Film Extrusion

Extrusion Behavior of Exxpol Metallocene Polypropylene

Polyethylene Blown Film Resins

Blown Film Characterization of Metallocene Resins Made in the Phillips Slurry Loop Process

Metallocene Linear Low Density Polyethylene Blends for Pouch Materials in High-Speed Hot-Liquid Filling Process

Blends of SIS Block Copolymers with Ultralow Density Polyethylenes

Impact of Metallocene Based Polypropylene on Existing Polypropylene Technologies and Markets

New Polyethylenes for Targetd Performance Based Applications

Index