Propylene is a nonpolar olefin. Selective oxidation of propylene in a gas containing oxygen and hydrogen over Au/TiO2 catalysts has been reported. Polymerization of propylene using Ziegler-Natta catalyst has been studied. Metal-catalyzed copolymerizations of nonpolar olefins (ethylene and propylene) with alkyl acrylates has been described. Copolymerization of propylene with the linear α-olefins 1-octene, 1-decene, 1-tetradecene, and 1-octadecene has been studied.
Application:
Propylene may be used in the synthesis of propylene oxide via epoxidation with hydrogen peroxide, in the presence of titanium silicalite catalyst.