Syndiotactic Polystyrene

Abstract

Syndiotactic polystyrene (sPS) is a semicrystalline polymers with a high melting point and rapid crystallization rate, which makes it possible to injection mold the material. The stereospecific polymerization is made possible by the combination of a transition metal catalyst with weakly coordinating cocatalysts, such as methylaluminoxane or compounds with tetrapentafluorophenylborate. The excellent balance of mechanical, electrical, solvent resistant, and dimensional stability properties combined with a relatively low price (based on the styrene monomer) have made this material a competitor to existing engineering plastics. The products also have excellent heat performance and are finding application in automotive (under the hood), electrical, and electronic connector systems.

Synthesis and Characterization of Syndiotactic Polystyrene-Polyethylene Block Copolymer

“…Syndiotactic polystyrene (sPS) is one of the most significant achievements of homogeneous polyinsertion catalysis [1,2]. Besides its employment as engineering plastic [3] thanks to a high melting temperature combined with favourable crystallization kinetics, sPS appears also as a smart polymer due to its nanoporous crystalline structure [4,5,6]. In this respect, many studies have been performed to disclose its ability to selectively clathrate small molecules in order either to remove the undesirable ones from the environment or to release the useful ones into a particular context [7,8].…”