Article abstract
Nature Materials 3, 470 - 475 (2004)
doi:10.1038/nmat1147
High-pressure synthesis of crystalline polyethylene using optical catalysis
David Chelazzi1, Matteo Ceppatelli1,2, Mario Santoro1,3, Roberto Bini1,2 and Vincenzo Schettino1,2
Abstract
Polymerization processes are probably the most relevant example of a chemical reaction activated by catalysts or radical initiators. Among polymers, polyethylene is by far the most common and largely produced. Here we present a high-pressure synthesis of high-density crystalline polyethylene by using only physical tools such as pressure and light. Low-density polyethylene is obtained by compressing ethylene at room temperature above 3 GPa in the ordered crystal phase, and a highly crystalline polymer is produced in the fluid phase at pressures lower than 1 GPa by using continuous-wave laser lines (
460 nm) as an optical catalyst. The photo-activation is based on a two-photon absorption process to 
* antibonding states, where the change in molecular geometry favours the polymeric chain formation. The high yield and crystallinity of the polymer recovered by the photoinduced reaction and the simplicity of the synthesis make this process appealing for large-scale applications.
- Dipartimento di Chimica dell'Università di Firenze, Via della Lastruccia 3, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy
- LENS, European Laboratory for Non-linear Spectroscopy and INFM, Via Carrara 1, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy
- Present address: Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington DC, USA
Correspondence to: Roberto Bini1,2 e-mail: bini@chim.unifi.it
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