Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

This proposal is to request funds for the acquisition of a solvent purification system, which is urgently needed to support Dr. Ye's innovative research program on olefin polymerization and novel polyolefin materials being carried out at Laurentian University. The requested solvent purification system is used to remove trace amounts of water and oxygen, which are often present in regular-grade solvents, to produce dry, deoxygenated high-purity solvents with water and oxygen concentrations reduced to sub-ppm level. In Dr. Ye's research, flammable organic solvents are extensively used in olefin polymerization processes as polymerization media and in synthesis of transition metal olefin polymerization catalysts. Due to the highly oxophilic nature of most metal catalysts for olefin polymerization, the use of high-purity solvents with significantly reduced water and oxygen are critical to the success of catalyst synthesis and olefin polymerization. The requested solvent purification system is equipped with purification columns packed with various molecular sieves, which effectively and spontaneously adsorb water and oxygen present even at trace levels in the solvents to be purified. The requested purification system provides a much safer, faster, and more convenient way to obtain high-purity solvents whenever needed. This requested system will be the first of its kind at Laurentian University. Given the large quantities of various high-purity solvents being consumed in Dr. Ye's research lab, the award of such a purification system will significantly enhance the work efficiency of Dr. Ye's team and help Dr. Ye establish a strong leading edge polyolefin research program at Laurentian University.