Polyolefin, any of a class of synthetic resins prepared by the polymerization of olefins. Olefins are hydrocarbons (compounds containing hydrogen [H] and carbon [C]) whose molecules contain a pair of carbon atoms linked together by a double bond. They are most often derived from natural gas or from low-molecular-weight constituents of petroleum, and their most prominent members are ethylene and propylene. These two compounds are “lower olefins”—that is, olefins whose molecules contain only one pair of carbon atoms. “Higher olefins,” containing two or more pairs of carbon atoms per molecule, include butene (butylene) and methylpentene. All of these olefins are made into polymers, but by far the most important are polyethylene and polypropylene. The wide array of uses to which these versatile plastics can be applied and the huge quantities in which they are made so overshadow the other olefin polymers that the term polyolefin is frequently understood to refer only to them.
The lower olefins are commonly represented by the chemical formula CH2=CHR, with R representing hydrogen in the case of ethylene and a pendant methyl (CH3) group in the case of propylene. The presence of the double bond is the key to the polymerization of these two hydrocarbons. Under the influence of chemical catalysts, and usually under the application of heat and pressure, the double bond is opened, and one of the two resultant single bonds is used to link one molecule to another. As the repeating unit of a polymeric molecule, the chemical structure of the olefin can be represented as:
This simple structure, repeated thousands or even millions of times, yields long, chainlike molecules of varying molecular weight, with or without attached side branches, that exhibit loosely amorphous or closely ordered, semicrystalline arrangements. Polyolefins are lightweight, flexible, thermoplastic materials that can be made into clear films and sheets, strong and resilient bottles and containers, water-resistant carpet fibres, and many other products.
Polyethylene was first made as a commercial product in the late 1930s, but the polyolefins did not begin their rise to prominence until the 1950s, after Karl Ziegler of Germany and Giulio Natta of Italy developed a series of catalysts (now known as Ziegler-Natta catalysts) that made it possible to manufacture the polymers to precise specifications and at low cost. Tens of millions of tons are produced each year.