Ziegler-Natta catalysts: HDPE and polypropylene
Catalizadores Ziegler-Natta: polietileno de alta densidad y polipropileno
- Date
- 1953-1954 · confidence high
- Place
- Max Planck Institute for Coal Research, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany; Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy
- Credited to
- Karl Ziegler (Mülheim) and Giulio Natta (Milan); Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1963
- People
- 👤 Giulio Natta1903–1979👤 Karl Ziegler1898–1973
- Field
- Matter & energy
What it is
Catalysts that polymerise olefins at low pressure with controlled structure, producing rigid, cheap plastics. They underlie half of all plastics manufactured today.
What it led to
- The plastic society: packaging, pipes, fibres and cars
- Microplastic pollution and oceans of waste
- Petrochemicals as a global industry
Built on
- Ziegler-Natta polymerization catalysts1953-1954
- ICI's polyethylene (1933)
- organometallic chemistry
Made possible
- Charnley low-friction hip replacement1962
- plastic packaging
- polypropylene fibres
- HDPE pipes