{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,30]],"date-time":"2026-01-30T09:59:21Z","timestamp":1769767161498,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,22]],"date-time":"2023-02-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1677024000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Polymers"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The copolymer synthesis process can be affected by failures in the production process or by contaminating compounds such as ketones, thiols, and gases, among others. These impurities act as an inhibiting agent of the Ziegler\u2013Natta (ZN) catalyst affecting its productivity and disturbing the polymerization reaction. In this work, the effect of formaldehyde, propionaldehyde, and butyraldehyde on the ZN catalyst and the way in which it affects the final properties of the ethylene-propylene copolymer is presented by analyzing 30 samples with different concentrations of the mentioned aldehydes along with three control samples. It was determined that the presence of formaldehyde 26 ppm, propionaldehyde 65.2 ppm, and butyraldehyde 181.2 ppm considerably affect the productivity levels of the ZN catalyst; this effect increases as the concentration of aldehydes is higher in the process; likewise, these impurities affect the properties of the final product, such as the fluidity index (MFI), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), bending, tension, and impact, which leads to a polymer with low-quality standards and less resistance to breakage. The computational analysis showed that the complexes formed by formaldehyde, propionaldehyde, and butyraldehyde with the active center of the catalyst are more stable than those obtained by the ethylene-Ti and propylene-Ti complexes, presenting values of \u221240.5, \u221247.22, \u221247.5, \u22125.2 and \u22121.3 kcal mol\u22121 respectively.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/polym15051098","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,23]],"date-time":"2023-02-23T01:31:06Z","timestamp":1677115866000},"page":"1098","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":16,"title":["Theoretical\u2013Experimental Study of the Action of Trace Amounts of Formaldehyde, Propionaldehyde, and Butyraldehyde as Inhibitors of the Ziegler\u2013Natta Catalyst and the Synthesis of an Ethylene\u2013Propylene Copolymer"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2330-8580","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Joaqu\u00edn","family":"Hern\u00e1ndez-Fern\u00e1ndez","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Chemistry Program, Department of Natural and Exact Sciences, San Pablo Campus, University of Cartagena, Cartagena 130015, Colombia"},{"name":"Chemical Engineering Program, School of Engineering, Universidad Tecnol\u00f3gica de Bolivar, Parque Industrial y Tecnol\u00f3gico Carlos V\u00e9lez Pombo Km 1 V\u00eda Turbaco, Cartagena 130001, Colombia"},{"name":"Department of Natural and Exact Science, Universidad de la Costa, Barranquilla 080002, Colombia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0815-5317","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rodrigo","family":"Ortega-Toro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Food Packaging and Shelf-Life Research Group (FP&SL), Food Engineering Department, Universidad de Cartagena, Cartagena de Indias 130015, Colombia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"John R.","family":"Castro-Suarez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"\u00c1rea B\u00e1sicas Exactas, Universidad del Sin\u00fa, Seccional Cartagena, Cartagena 130001, Colombia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101","DOI":"10.3390\/ma6010101","article-title":"Ethylene formation by catalytic dehydration of ethanol with industrial considerations","volume":"6","author":"Fan","year":"2012","journal-title":"Materials"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4800","DOI":"10.1007\/s10924-022-02557-4","article-title":"Development and Application of a Principal Component Analysis Model to Quantify the Green Ethylene Content in Virgin Impact Copolymer Resins During Their Synthesis on an Industrial Scale","volume":"30","author":"Guerra","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. 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