Extrusion polymerization: catalyzed synthesis of crystalline linear polyethylene nanofibers within a mesoporous silica
Crystalline nanofibers of linear polyethylene with an ultrahigh molecular weight (6,200,000) and a diameter of 30 to 50 nanometers were formed by the polymerization of ethylene with mesoporous silica fiber-supported titanocene, with methylalumoxane as a cocatalyst. Small-angle x-ray scattering analysis indicated that the polyethylene fibers consist predominantly of extended-chain crystals. This observation indicates a potential utility of the honeycomb-like porous framework as an extruder for nanofabrication of polymeric materials.
Kageyama
K
Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.
Tamazawa
J
Aida
T