Parallel Catalyst Synthesis Protocol for Accelerating Heterogeneous Olefin Polymerization Research

Abstract

The data scientific approach has become an indispensable tool for capturing structure–performance relationships in complex systems, where the quantity and quality of data play a crucial role. In heterogeneous olefin polymerization research, the exhaustive and multi-step nature of Ziegler-Natta catalyst synthesis has long posed a bottleneck in synthetic throughput and data generation. In this contribution, a custom-designed 12-parallel reactor system and a catalyst synthesis protocol were developed to achieve the parallel synthesis of a magnesium ethoxide-based Ziegler-Natta catalyst. The established system, featuring a miniature reaction vessel with magnetically suspended stirring, allows for over a tenfold reduction in synthetic scale while ensuring the consistency and reliability of the synthesis. We demonstrate that the established protocol is highly efficient for the generation of a catalyst library with diverse compositions and physical features, holding promise as a foundation for the data-driven establishment of the structure–performance relationship in heterogeneous olefin polymerization catalysis.