Contents
Giulio Natta
Developing stereospecific polymerisation and isotactic polypropylene.
Stereoregular polymers · Industrial polypropylene
- Born
- 26 February 1903
- Birthplace
- Imperia, Italy
- Died
- 2 May 1979
More people
Giulio Natta
Giulio Natta was an Italian chemist who showed how catalysts could control the spatial arrangement of polymer chains. He shared the 1963 chemistry Nobel with Karl Ziegler.
Early life
Engineering studies
Graduated in chemical engineering at Milan Polytechnic in 1924.
Early methods
Studied solids using X-rays and electron diffraction.
Career
- 1933
Pavia
Became professor and director of its general chemistry institute.
- 1936
Turin
Led industrial chemistry at the Polytechnic of Turin.
- 1938
Milan
Took charge of industrial chemistry at Milan Polytechnic.
Contributions
Stereoregular polymers
Used catalysts to make polymer chains with controlled spatial arrangements.
Industrial polypropylene
His work helped Montecatini produce isotactic polypropylene commercially.
Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Shared the prize with Karl Ziegler.
Beyond the lab
Family
Married Adele Diodato; they had a son and daughter.
Home ties
Maintained connections with Ceriana and Sanremo, places associated with his family and childhood.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Nobel autobiography ↗Photo: Unknown (Mondadori Publishers). Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
