A Ziegler-Natta catalyst, named for its developers Karl Ziegler and Giulio Natta, is a catalyst used to synthesize polymers from alpha-olefins such as propylene. Heterogeneous versions, based on titanium compounds combined with an organoaluminum cocatalyst such as triethylaluminium, dominate industrial use, while homogeneous versions built from complexes of titanium, zirconium or hafnium are typically activated with methylaluminoxane. Ziegler discovered the titanium-based catalysts and Natta showed they could produce stereoregular polymers from propylene, work recognized with the 1963 Nobel Prize in Chemistry; commercial production began in 1956, and by 2010 Ziegler-Natta and related catalysts were producing more than 100 million tonnes a year of plastics, elastomers and rubbers, the largest-volume commodity chemicals and plastics in the world.
Facts
Partially Attested
YearSource dates commercial polyolefin manufacture with these catalysts to 1956, not the original discovery. SignificanceIts polymers are the largest-volume commodity plastics and the largest-volume commodity chemicals in the world. 1 Ziegler-Natta Catalyst
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FAQs
Why did Ziegler and Natta win a Nobel Prize for this catalyst?
They shared the 1963 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discoveries in the chemistry and technology of high polymers.
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1963 was awarded jointly to Karl Ziegler and Giulio Natta "for their discoveries in the field of the chemistry and technology of high polymers". The catalyst that carries both their names belongs to that body of work on polymers, which is why the two men shared the prize.
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Associated With
Source Karl Ziegler and Giulio Natta (Science History Institute)
Source Karl Ziegler and Giulio Natta (Science History Institute)
In Field
Source Ziegler-Natta catalyst - Wikipedia
Invented By
Source Karl Ziegler and Giulio Natta (Science History Institute)
Source Karl Ziegler and Giulio Natta (Science History Institute)
Sources
1. Ziegler-Natta catalyst - Wikipedia
History, commercial use sentence
used in the commercial manufacture of various polyolefins since 1956
History, closing sentence on commodity polymers
Together, these polymers represent the largest-volume commodity plastics as well as the largest-volume commodity chemicals in the world.
In Field: Chemical Engineering, Categories
Catalysts
View the SourceZiegler-Natta catalyst (Wikipedia)
In Group: Synthetic Polymers and Polymerization Processes, lead sentenceView the Source Karl Ziegler and Giulio Natta (Science History Institute)
Associated With: Karl Ziegler, Page text
In the early 1950s Ziegler and Natta discovered a new process for synthesizing polymers that made possible a lot of common plastics, including high-density polyethylene and polypropylene.
Invented By: Karl Ziegler, Page text
In the early 1950s Ziegler and Natta discovered a new process for synthesizing polymers that made possible a lot of common plastics, including high-density polyethylene and polypropylene.
Associated With: Giulio Natta, Page text
In the early 1950s Ziegler and Natta discovered a new process for synthesizing polymers that made possible a lot of common plastics, including high-density polyethylene and polypropylene.
Invented By: Giulio Natta, Page text
In the early 1950s Ziegler and Natta discovered a new process for synthesizing polymers that made possible a lot of common plastics, including high-density polyethylene and polypropylene.
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