Evidence for the Polymerization of Ethylene Catalyzed by Ti⁺ in the Gas Phase

In this communication, we report the polymerization of ethylene molecules induced by an atomic ion, namely Ti(+), in the gas phase. The experiments are performed by using a newly built selected ion drift tube with laser vaporization source apparatus operated at thermal energies. 50 far, up to twenty ethylene molecules are found to react with Ti(+), The evidence that a large number of ethylene molecules react with, and become bonded onto, Ti(+) at room temperature strongly suggests that Ti(+) induces a reaction between the ethylene molecules that leads to the formation of an ethylene polymer.