Ziegler, Karl

Ziegler, Karl (1898-1973), German chemist and Nobel laureate, born near Kassel. He was educated at the University of Marburg. Ziegler had converted ethene (or ethylene) to polyethene (polyethylene) by a low-pressure process. Natta's improved process allowed him to produce "isotactic" (a term coined by his wife) polypropene (polypropylene), in which the side-chain methyl groups are ordered in one direction along the polymer chain. Such polymers have become commercially very important because of their high melting point and great strength. In 1963 he shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistry with Ziegler.