The 5th Blue Sky Conference on Catalytic Olefin Polymerization, organized in collaboration by the Laboratory of Stereoselective Polymerizations (LSP) of the Federico II University of Naples and the Dutch Polymer Institute (DPI), was held very successfully on 24-28 June 2019 in Naples and Sorrento. The number of participants (222 from 24 different Countries) was the largest in the series, as was that of poster presentations (111).
The inaugural session on 24 June, entirely dedicated to the important and to some extent controversial questions of sustainable polymeric materials for a Circular Economy, took place at the new Campus of the Federico II University in the neighborhood of San Giovanni. The attendance there was larger (almost 350 participants) due to the involvement of researchers and students of the Departments of Chemical Sciences and Chemical Engineering of the hosting Institution. The session also provided a nice opportunity to announce the foundation of the “High-Throughput Polymer Hub” (www.ht-polymerhub.unina.it), a new facility of the Federico II University for teaching and research activities on sustainable large-volume synthetic polymers in collaboration with industry.
All novelties introduced in the conference format to make this 5th Edition even more interactive and stimulating were enthusiastically endorsed by the participants. The idea of Keynote Lectures delivered by two or more scientists presenting the outcome of collaborative efforts was appreciated beyond any expectation, as was that of Elevated Pitches (agile contributed oral presentations of 15 min with the question time deferred to related posters in the regular after-dinner poster sessions).
In the tradition of the Blue Sky Conferences, a Best-Posters Contest was held. At the Conference a board of Referees including all Key-Note and Invited Lecturers voted for their favorite three best-posters. The presenting Authors of all three were awarded with small grants, and on top of that the Author of the most voted poster was called to deliver a 30 min lecture in the concluding session on 28 June. The winners were:
#1. Pavel Kulyabin (Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia)
Reactivity of C1-symmetric heteroarylamido hafnium complexes containing Hf–C bond towards small electrophilic molecules: synthesis of novel olefin polymerization catalysts
(in co-authorship with Georgy P. Goryunov, Dmitry Y. Mladentsev, Dmitry V. Uborsky, Alexander Z. Voskoboynikov, Jo Ann M. Canich, and John R. Hagadorn)
#2. Georgy P. Goryunov (Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia)
Ansa-zirconocenes bearing 5-NR2-6-alkyl-4-hydrocarbyl-2-methylindenyl moieties: synthesis, structure, stereoselective polymerization of propylene
(in co-authorship with Pavel S. Kulyabin, Ivan A. Portnyagin, Alexey N. Tsarev, Andrey F. Asachenko, Vyatcheslav V. Izmer, Dmitry V. Uborsky, Alexander Z. Voskoboynikov, Noureddine Ajellal, Tiina Vanne, Riitta Varzeshkhah, Luigi Resconi, and Pascal Castro)
#2 (ex-aequo). Alessio Mingione (HTExplore srl, Naples, Italy)
High Throughput Experimentation protocols for the controlled activation of super-active molecular olefin polymerization catalysts in a Parallel Pressure Reactor (PPR) setup
(in co-authorship with Christian Ehm, Antonio Vittoria, Francesco Zaccaria, Roberta Cipullo, and Vincenzo Busico)
Personally and on behalf of the Organizing Committee, I wish to congratulate the Authors, and thank all participants for another exciting and enjoyable meeting. Arrivederci!
(Prof. Vincenzo Busico, Conference Chair)
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International Advisory Board: Vincenzo Busico (LSP), Roberta Cipullo (LSP), Jacques Joosten (DPI), Minoru Terano (Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, JAIST)
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