The greener side of polymers in the light of d-block metal complexes as precatalysts

Polyolefins are the most widely used and needed polymers in the world. Their polymerization process is a topic of great interest among scientists. Not only do polyolefins have remarkable qualities: high strength and tensile strength, plus very good abrasion resistance, but their production process is relatively cheap and environmentally friendly. The production process of these polymers can follow a free-radical mechanism or with the use of catalysts. It is thanks to the catalysts that are used in this reaction that the polymerization can be counted among the processes that are compatible with the term “green chemistry.” Even though metallocene catalysts were discovered as early as 1980 it is still recently, complex catalysts have received the most attention. The production technology of these catalysts and the substrate used in their synthesis allow them to be included in the group of “green catalysts.” These catalytic systems consist of a metal combined with ligands. The use of late transition metals in these systems and the choice of a suitable ligand expands their range of possibilities and applications in technology of olefin polymerizations. This work is a review of current information on polyolefins and their “green advantages,” as well as achievements in the creation of catalysts having transition metals group.