UNDERSTANDING ETHYLENE CATALYSIS

摘要

The commercial importance of ethylene gas is both due to its usage as a ripening hormone for fruits as well as a raw material for the production of industrial chemicals. Although plants are generally regarded to be the largest producers of the gas, industrial combustion processes also produce large amounts of the same. Apart from being used as a raw material for polymerization, ethylene is used as a starting material for the production of vinyl acetate, which will later be polymerized to result in polyvinyl acetate. Ethylene, being an alkene is highly reactive and is known to react with transition metals such as iron and copper. A newer research study at the University of California, Davis, now reveals that ethylene can react reversibly with metals such as tin or aluminum.