Catalysts Made in Kazan University Outmatch Foreign Competition

Employees of the Institute of Chemistry make their contribution to import substitution by synthesizing new ethylene polymerization catalysts.

One of the members of the catalyst workgroup is young researcher Aliya Khusnuriyalova, 5th year student and an employee of the New Petrochemistry Catalysts Lab (research consultant – Dr. Dmitry Yakhvarov, Chair of the Lab). The catalyst projects are worked on in partnership with the Institute of Organic and Physical Chemistry.

The catalysts are for the production of polyethylene and linear alpha olefins, which are in turn used for producing polymers and oligomers. Alpha olefins are also used as components in synthetic motor oils, lubricants and cleaning agents.

The technology researched at KFU is eco-friendly and can utilize waste of some other chemical production cycles. The energy consumption is also relatively low.

The results were published in Organometallics (impact factor 4.25) and have already received diplomas of national and international conferences. Ms. Khusnuriyalova's presentation on the subject (“New ways of producing and activating organonickel catalysts of polymerization and oligomerization of ethylene”) was awarded first prize at the “Catalyst Design: From Molecular to Industrial Level” conference held in Kazan in September 2015.

In this particular project the Institute of Chemistry currently collaborates with the Institute of Chemistry of Organometallic Compounds (Florence, Italy).