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Abstract
The seemingly matured field of olefin polymerization still poses several challenges and holds enormous potential to meet contemporary material requirements. In this feature article, we examine the progress of olefin polymerization in the last two decades. Among the several emerging trends, we identify four most impactful discoveries, namely, (i) disentangled ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (dUHMWPE), (ii) disubstituted functional olefin copolymerization, (iii) incorporation of bioderived comonomers in polyolefins, and (iv) application of above (ii, iii) functional polyolefins as compatibilizers. The dUHMWPE has attracted significant attention and heterogeneous Ziegler-type catalysts, homogenous metallocene, and post-metallocene catalysts have been reported to produce disentangled ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene. Insertion copolymerization of difunctional disubstituted olefins has been reported only recently and ortho-phosphinobenzene sulfonate palladium catalyst outperforms the other catalysts. Interestingly, insertion copolymerization of bioderived olefins has witnessed a surge in the number of reports. Sugar and plant oil-derived olefins have been copolymerized with ethylene to obtain relatively hydrophilic polyethylene. The functional polyethylene is finding a new application as compatibilizer or displays better adhesion to surfaces. Thus, the feature article offers a succinct account of emerging trends in polyolefins, identifies the most impactful contributions, and debates the application potential of these new materials.
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This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.
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Notes on contributors
Rajkumar S. Birajdar
Rajkumar Birajdar was born in 1996 in Maharashtra, India. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 2016 from C.B. Khedgi’s College, Akkalkot, Maharashtra. Subsequently, in 2018, he attained a Master of Science degree from Solapur University, Maharashtra. During his Master's studies, he secured the first rank in the university for his field of study. His exceptional achievement led to him being honored with a gold medal in 2019, recognizing his outstanding academic performance. Rajkumar Birajdar was granted the DST-INSPIRE research fellowship in 2019. Following this, he joined to Dr. Samir H. Chikkali's group in National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India to pursue his Ph.D. Currently, his research focus is in the field of designing and synthesizing ligands and it’s corresponding metal catalyst for olefin (co)polymerization and he is also involved in the study of the de/re-polymerization processes of polyolefin.
Dnyaneshwar Bodkhe
Dnyaneshwar V. Bodkhe was born in Maharashtra, India. In 2013, he achieved his B.Sc. from S. B. College at Dr. B. A. M. U University. Following his M.Sc. at the same university, he became a part of Dr. Samir Chikkali's research team at CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory in Pune, India, taking on the role of a Junior Research Fellow (JRF) in July 2015. His current focus lies in the synthesis of ligands and early transition metal complexes for the purpose of UHMWPE synthesis.
Poonam Gupta
Poonam Gupta was born in Haryana, India. Her academic journey began in Haryana, India, where she was born. She pursued her undergraduate studies and earned a B.Sc degree from IIS University, Jaipur, which she completed in 2016. After her bachelor's degree, Poonam Gupta pursued further education by enrolling in a Master of Science (M.Sc) program at the University of Delhi. In the year 2021, she achieved a significant accomplishment by clearing the National Eligibility Test (NET) for Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) with a remarkable rank of 91. Subsequently she joined the research group of Dr. Samir H. Chikkali at CSIR- National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India, as a Junior Research Fellow (JRF) in 2021. Currently she is working on the design and synthesis of Transition metal catalyzed olefin-insertion copolymerization.
Maulali H. Shaikh
Maulali H. Shaikh was born in Solapur, India. He Completed his B.Sc. at D.B.F. Dayanand college of Arts and Science Solapur in (2018). After completing his M.Sc. at KBC- North Maharashtra University of Jalgaon, India, (2020). He joined the research group of Dr. Samir H. Chikkali at CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory Pune, India, As a Project Associate-I (2022). Currently he is working on the synthesis of ligands and early transition metal complexes for the ethylene polymerization.
Rohan Ramekar
Rohan V. Ramekar was born in Amravati, India. He completed his B.Sc. at Shri Shivaji Science College Amravati, affiliated with Sant Gadge baba Amravati University in 2020. After completing his M.Sc. at MIT-World Peace University, he joined the research group of Dr. Samir H. Chikkali at CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory Pune, India, As a Project Associate-I (2022). Currently he is working on the synthesis of ligands and early transition metal complexes for the ethylene polymerization.
Samir H. Chikkali
Samir Chikkali earned his Ph.D. under the supervision of Prof. Dietrich Gudat from the University of Stuttgart, Germany. Subsequently, he did postdoctoral research with Prof. Joost Reek at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Prof. Stefan Mecking at the University of Konstanz, Germany. In 2012 he returned to India and joined CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL), Pune, to start his independent research career. He has guided 8 Ph.D. students, 6 post-docs, and 15 project assistants. Currently, he leads a team of 18 highly motivated researchers in organometallics, polyolefins, and renewable/degradable polymers. His honours and awards include a summer fellowship from the Indian Academy of Science, DPI (Dutch Polymer Institute) postdoctoral fellowship, AvH (Alexander von Humboldt) postdoctoral fellowship, the Ramanujan (DST) Fellowship, Best Scientist Award by North Maharashtra University, the Scientist of the Year Award 2016–2017 & 2022–2023 by NCL-RF, Young Associate of Maharashtra Academy of Sciences 2017, Professor Kaushal Kishore Memorial Award 2020 by Society of Polymer Science, India (SPSI), and 10th National Award 2020, by Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Government of India. He has published over 68 papers in international journals of high repute, he is an inventor on 11 patents and has edited a book on metal-catalyzed polymerization. He has served as guest editor of “Journal of Chemical Sciences” in the past (July 2018 issue) and has been appointed as an “Associate Editor” of “Bulletin of Materials Science” recently.