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Photoinduced Ethylene Polymerization on Titania Nanoparticles
Author(s) -
Barzan Caterina,
Mino Lorenzo,
Morra Elena,
Groppo Elena,
Chiesa Mario,
Spoto Giuseppe
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
chemcatchem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.497
H-Index - 106
eISSN - 1867-3899
pISSN - 1867-3880
DOI - 10.1002/cctc.201700850
Subject(s) - ethylene , polymerization , electron paramagnetic resonance , photochemistry , polyethylene , irradiation , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , materials science , nanoparticle , spectroscopy , diffuse reflectance infrared fourier transform , photocatalysis , chemistry , polymer chemistry , catalysis , chemical engineering , polymer , organic chemistry , nanotechnology , nuclear magnetic resonance , engineering , physics , quantum mechanics , nuclear physics
Herein, we report on the ability of H 2 ‐photoreduced TiO 2 nanoparticles to catalyze the polymerization of ethylene without the use of an alkylating agent. Even more, we demonstrate that the same reaction occurs directly on stoichiometric TiO 2 in the presence of ethylene under UV‐light irradiation at room temperature and, thus, without any prereduction step. The synergic use of electron paramagnetic resonance and diffuse reflectance UV/Vis‐near‐IR spectroscopy allowed us to identify and correlate different Ti 3+ EPR signals and UV/Vis‐NIR bands, whereas transmission FTIR spectroscopy (applied under in situ UV‐light irradiation) was fundamental to prove ethylene polymerization and to observe ethylene oxidation byproducts. The possibility to polymerize ethylene easily in a one‐step procedure can be a promising approach to increase the compatibility of TiO 2 as an inorganic additive for polyethylene blends.