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The ability of an engineering plastic material to maintain properties at increased temperature is critical in many applications. Here is discussed how recent developments in catalyst technology have led to the ability to produce syndiotactic polystyrene (See Figure), the regularly alternating arrangement of pendant phenyl groups giving rise to a crystalline material with well‐structured spherulitic morphology and improved heat performance.

Several non‐metallocene (Ti, Zr) and substituted mono‐Cp titanium metallocenes have been tested in the presence of methylalumoxane (MAO) as catalyst for syndiospecific polymerization of styrene. Effect of substitutions on the titanium and Cp ligand, molar ratio of Al/Ti, TMA and temperature on activity, Mwt. and % sPS were studied. CpTi(OiPr)3 gives a less active catalyst than Cp*Ti(OiPr)3 and the resulting sPS is less stereoregular and of lower molecular weight.

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