Grants and Contributions:

Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year (2017-2018 to 2019-2020).

Synthetic polymer chemistry forms the basis of the plastics, fibres and rubber industries. This project involves the development of improved methods to prepare butyl rubber, a commercially important synthetic polymer that finds widespread application in areas ranging from tires to medical septa to chewing gum. Butyl rubber is prepared by the carbocationic copolymerization of isobutylene and isoprene at -100 deg C. This difficult and challenging reaction requires an initiator that is capable of generating a highly reactive carbocation and stabilizing this species through cation-anion interactions. With previous support of the NSERC CRD program and our partner Arlanxeo Canada Inc., we discovered a new class of cationic initiator for the polymerization of olefins. A patent application has been submitted. These new initiators offer a major advantage in that they permit polymerization with improved performance at temperatures above -100 deg C. Moreover, the type of rubber that they produce has unique microstructure when compared to that prepared using a conventional initiator system. The proposed research will aim to explore the scope of these new initiator systems and to move this research towards commercialization by our partner. Our partner, Arlanxeo Inc., is a leader in specialty chemicals producing ca. 150,000 tonnes p. a. of butyl rubber in Sarnia, ON and their Global R&D Centre for Butyl Rubber is located in London, ON.