BAB I

PENDAHULUAN

A. STRUCTURE POLYPROPYLENE

Polypropylene is a linear hydrocarbon polymer containing little or no

unsaturation. It is therefore not surprising that polypropylene and polyethylene
have many similarities in their properties, particularly in their swelling and
solution behaviour and in their electrical properties. In spite of the many
similarities the presence of a methyl group attached to alternate carbon atoms on
the chain backbone can alter the properties of the polymer in a number of ways.
For example it can cause a slight stiffening of the chain and it can interfere with
the molecular symmetry. The first effect leads to an increase in the crystalline
melting point whereas the interference with molecular symmetry would tend to
depress it. In the case of the most regular polypropylenes the net effect is a
melting point some 50°C higher than that of the most regular polyethylenes. The
methyl side groups can also influence some aspects of chemical behaviour. For
example the tertiary carbon atom provides a site for oxidation so that the polymer
is less stable than polyethylene to the influence of oxygen. In addition, thermal
and high-energy treatment leads to chain scission rather than cross-linking.
The most significant influence of the methyl group is that it can lead to
products of different tacticity, ranging from completely isotactic and syndiotactic
structures to atactic molecules. The isotactic form is the most
regular since the methyl groups are all disposed on one side of the molecule.
Such molecules cannot crystallise in a planar zigzag form as do those of
polyethylene because of the steric hindrance of the methyl groups but crystallise
in a helix, with three molecules being required for one turn of the helix. Both
right-hand and left-hand helices occur but both forms can fit into the same crystal
structure. Commercial polymers are usually about 90-95% isotactic. In these
products, atactic and syndiotactic structures may be present either as complete
molecules or as blocks of varying length in chains of otherwise isotactic
molecules.

A.1. ISOTACTIC POLYPROPYLENE

CH3 CH3 CH3 CH3 CH3

In view of the stereochemistry, Natta managed to synthesize isotactic crystalline

polypropene with the combination catalysts that have previously been discovered by
Ziegler [230]. He thus achieved a breakthrough for a technical application of
polypropene.
The most widely used catalyst for the stereospecific polymerization of propene still
consists of titanium halogenides and alkylaluminum compounds. In addition to this
catalyst, a large number of other systems have been tested.

A.2. SYNDIOTACTIC PROPYLENE

Syndiotactic polypropylene first became available in the 1990s (Fina, Mitsui Toastu,
Sumitomo) and more recently has been marketed by Dow. Currently this polymer is
more expensive than other polypropylenes both because of catalyst costs and the
small scale of production.
Polipropilen adalah sebuah polimer hidrokarbon linear yang mengandung sedikit atau
jenuh. Oleh karena itu tidak mengejutkan bahwa polipropilen dan polietilen memiliki
banyak kesamaan sifat. Meskipun banyak kesamaan, namun keberadaan gugus metil
mengikat atom karbon pada kekuatan rantai yang bisa merubah sifat polimer dalam
berbagai cara. Sebagai contoh ini dapat menyebabkan kurangnya ketegangan pada
rantai dan bisa mengganggu kesimetrisan molekul. Efek pertama mengarah pada
meningkatnya titik leleh Kristal yang akan menghambat system molekuler yang
cenderung akan menekannya.