Guilio Natta
Milan Polytechnic
Inducted 2005
Giulio Natta (1903 – 1979) was born in a small town near Genoa, Italy, in 1903. He was a chemist who contributed to the understanding of high-molecular-weight polymers, which led to the development of new plastics and rubber materials.
He earned his doctorate in Chemical Engineering at Milan Polytechnic in 1924 and held chairs in chemistry at the universities of Pavia, Rome, and Turin early in his career. He then returned to the Milan Polytechnic as a full professor and research director of the Department of Industrial Chemistry in 1938. Natta studied the polymerization of olefins, extending Karl Ziegler’s research on organometallic catalyst systems that resulted in stereo-specific polymers. With funding from Montecatini Corporation, Natta conducted experiments that ultimately led to the development of isotactic polypropylene in 1957. This high strength, high melting point semi-crystalline isotactic polypropylene was an instant commercial success. Natta also developed a series of new elastomers, including those made by copolymerizing ethylene with other alpha olefins.
Natta published more than 700 technical papers during his distinguished career, most dealing with subjects related to stereo-regular polymerization. He was also the inventor of record on many patents. He has received many industry and academic honors and awards, most notably a 1963 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Karl Ziegler for developing Ziegler-Natta catalysts.
Areas of Expertise:
Plastic materials, Plastic educator