Effect of the nature of an organoaluminum activator on catalytic properties of phenoxyimine zirconium complexes in homo- and copolymerization reactions of ethylene

Catalytic properties of the phenoxyimine zirconium complexes, viz., bis[N-(3,5-di-tert-butylsalicylidene)anilinato]zirconium(IV) dichloride (1) and its fluorinated analog, bis[N-(3,5-di-tert-butylsalicylidene)-2,3,5,6-tetrafluoroanilinato]zirconium(IV) dichloride (2), were studied. Ethylene homopolymerization and copolymerization of ethylene with α-olefins were chosen as catalytic reactions, and various organoaluminum compounds served as activators: commercial polymethylalumoxane (MAO) containing ∼35 mol.% of trimethylaluminum (TMA), MAO purified from TMA (“dry” MAO), and “classical” organoaluminum compounds, namely, TMA and triisobutylaluminum (TIBA). Complex 1 is not activated by “dry” MAO but is efficiently transformed into the catalytically active state by commercial MAO, “conventional” TMA, and TIBA. These processes give low-molecular-weight polyethylenes (PE) characterized by high values of polydispersity indices and by polymodal curves of gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The order of decreasing the efficiency of activation for the cocatalysts is MAO > TIBA > TMA. Fluorinated complex 2 exhibits a high activity after its treatment with MAO and “dry” MAO, the activity is much lower upon mixing with TIBA, and complex 2 is inactive when using TMA. In the copolymerization of ethylene with hex-1-ene and dec-1-ene, complex 1 treated with MAO is highly active but gives a low level of insertion of the comonomer (1–2 mol.% in the copolymer). Complex 2 activated with “dry” MAO is more efficient in the copolymerization of ethylene with propylene or hex-1-ene but, like complex 1, it does not produce copolymers with a high content of the comonomer. The both catalysts provide the insertion of α-olefin as isolated units separated by extended sections of the chain consisting of ethylene units.     

Polymerization of hydroxyl functional polypropylene by metallocene catalysis

Propylene was copolymerized with 10-undecen-1-ol with use of dimethylsilanyl-bis-(2-methyl-4-phenyl-1-indenyl)zirconium dichloride as catalyst activated with methylaluminoxane (MAO) and triisobutylaluminum (TIBA). Comonomer incorporations as high as 2.0 mol% or 8.2 wt% were obtained without serious activity losses. Concentration of MAO, aluminum/comonomer ratio and pressure had some effect on polymerization activity and yield. However, changing the proportion of MAO in the cocatalyst mixture of MAO and TIBA proved to be most efficient way to enhance polymerization activity. Still, the result was a compromise between high functionality content, polymerization activity and molecular weight.     

Polymerization of higher α-olefins with the catalytic system (4R,5R)-2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxolane-4,5-bis(perfluorophenyldimethanolate) titanium(IV) dichloride-organoaluminum compound

The catalytic activity of the titanium(IV) dichloride complex with the (4R,5R)-2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxolane-4,5-bis(perfluorophenyldimethanol) ligand in the presence of a cocatalyst (polymethylaluminoxane, triethylaluminum, or triisobutylaluminum) in the polymerization of higher α-olefins (1-hexene, 1-octene, 1-decene) is investigated. It is shown that, depending on the types of cocatalyst and monomer and the molar ratio of components of the catalytic system, high- or ultrahigh-molecular-mass poly(α-olefins) with M _w = (4 × 10⁵)?(3 × 10⁶) can be prepared. The chain microstructure of polyhexene is examined.     

Substituent effects on titanocenium catalysts

Titanocene dichloride (1) and its bis(trifluoromethyl) (2) and bis(N,N-dimethylamino) (3) derivatives have been compared as catalysts for ethylene and propylene polymerizations using both methylaluminoxane (MAO) and triphenylcarbenium tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)borate (4)/triisobutylaluminum (TIBA) as cocatalysts. The differences between the activities of the three ‘free’ titanocenium ions and the M _w of the polyolefins produced by them may be attributable to the relative stabilities of the intermediate olefin–titanocenium π-complexes. Interaction of either the neutral MAO or its anion with the titanocenium species may be responsible for the significantly lower catalytic efficiencies when the precursors were activated by MAO than by the 4/TIBA system.     

Heat Stabilizers as Activators in Coordination Polymerization

Summary: The solvent‐free syndiospecific styrene polymerization as an example of a coordination polymerization has been investigated with a catalyst system consisting of η⁵‐octahydrofluorenyl titanium trimethoxide as a transition metal catalyst, MAO as a cocatalyst, and TIBA, in the presence of reaction products of sterically hindered phenolic compounds, usually applied as heat stabilizers of polymers. Unexpectedly, such reaction products led to a significant increase in polymerization activity of the catalyst system. Second, after deactivation of the catalyst system, such activators result in a significantly enhanced thermal stability of the syndiotactic polymers received.

Effect of the P₈‐activator on polymerization activity in dependence on polymerization time (molar ratio–styrene:MAO:TIBA:P:Ti = 700 000:50:25:25:1; molar ratio–phenolic compound:TIBA = 1:3.2; polymerization temperature: 50 °C).     

Polymerization of α-olefins promoted by zirconium complexes bearing bis(phenoxy-imine) ligands with ortho-phenoxy halogen substituents

New fluorinated bis(phenoxy-imine)zirconium complexes bearing halogen substituents in the ortho and para positions of the phenolate rings, bis[N-(3,5-dibromosalycilidene)-2,3,4,5,6-pentafluoroaniline]-Zr(IV) dichloride (1) and bis[N-(3,5-dichlorosalycilidene)-2,3,4,5,6-pentafluoroaniline]-Zr(IV) dichloride (2) have been synthesized and used as precatalysts in the polymerization of propylene and 1-hexene. Their catalytic behaviour was compared with that of the analogous fluorinated zirconium complexes bearing alkyl groups in the same positions of the phenolate rings to investigate the effects produced by the introduction of additional electron-withdrawing halogen substituents. Complexes 1 and 2 produce stereoirregular, slightly syndiotactic enriched polypropylenes showing enhanced catalytic activities and an improved primary regioselectivity. Both catalysts promote efficiently the oligomerization of 1-hexene to atactic and regioregular oligomers. Interestingly for both the studied monomers it is possible to control the molecular weights and the structures of end groups of the produced polymeric chains by an appropriate choice of the cocatalyst. Functionalization reactions of the unsaturated polymeric chains selectively produced are also reported.     

Polymerization of methyl methacrylate with ethylene bridged heterodinuclear metallocene of samarium and titanium

A novel heterodinuclear catalyst, ethylene bridged samarocene and titanocene chloride (Sm-Ti), was used both as a single component catalyst (cat.) and also by activation with triisobutyl aluminum (TIBA) to polymerize methyl methacrylate (MMA). The binary catalyst demonstrated higher activity than the single component, but the molecular weight of the resultant PMMA is lower. Ultrahigh molecular weight PMMA (1.5×10⁶) was obtained at an attractive conversion (87%) without any cocatalyst. The effects of polymerization parameters, such as temperature, time, molar ratios of Al(i-Bu)₃/cat. and MMA/cat., were studied in detail. The results showed that the catalytic activity had a rather different dependence on the polymerization temperature with/without TIBA. High molecular weight PMMA was much more easily prepared in a bulk system than in toluene solution. The polymer yielded with about 65% syndiotacticity by 1H NMR and 75% by IR spectroscopy, but its stereoregularity did not change too much with polymerization temperature and the concentration of TIBA.     

单茂钛催化剂的苯乙烯间规聚合和乙烯聚合的比较

考察三甲基铝（ＴＭＡ） 部分水解法制备固体改性甲基铝氧烷（ｍ ＭＡＯ） 时,反应物Ｈ２Ｏ 和ＴＭＡ 的摩尔比对ｍ ＭＡＯ 的产量及ｍ ＭＡＯ 中ＴＭＡ 含量的影响;以五甲基茂基三苄氧基钛［Ｃｐ ＊ Ｔｉ（ＯＢｚ）３］／ｍ ＭＡＯ 组成的均相催化体系,分别考察ｍ ＭＡＯ 的用量［ 即Ａｌ／Ｔｉ 摩尔比］ 及ｍ ＭＡＯ 中ＴＭＡ 含量对苯乙烯间规聚合和乙烯聚合的影响．通过分析Ｃｐ ＊ Ｔｉ（ＯＢｚ）３／ｍ ＭＡＯ 催化体系钛氧化态的分布,发现Ｔｉ（ Ⅲ） 活性中心有利于合成间规聚苯乙烯;而Ｔｉ（ Ⅳ） 活性中心有利于合成聚乙烯．苯乙烯间规聚合时,外加三异丁基铝（ＴＩＢＡ） ,将提高催化活性,同时可节省ＭＡＯ 用量．     

Copolymerization of ethylene and 1-hexene with TiCl4/MgCl2 catalysts modified by 2,6-diisopropylphenol

A supported TiCl4/MgCl2 catalyst without internal electron donor (O-cat) was prepared firstly. Then it was modified by 2,6-diisopropylphenol to make a novel modified catalyst (M-cat). These two catalysts were used to catalyze ethylene/1-hexene copolymerization and 1-hexene homopolymerization. The influence of cocatalyst and hydrogen on the catalytic behavior of these two catalysts was investigated. In ethylene/1-hexene copolymerization, the introduction of 2,6-iPr2C6H3O-groups did not deactivate the supported TiCl4/MgCl2 catalyst. Although the 1-hexene incorporation in ethylene/1-hexene copolymer prepared by M-cat was lower than that prepared by O-cat, the composition distribution of the former was narrower than that of the latter. Methylaluminoxane (MAO) was a more effective activator for M-cat than triisobutyl-aluminium (TIBA). MAO led to higher yield and more uniform chain structure. In 1-hexene homopolymerization, the presence of 2,6-iPr2C6H3O-groups lowered the propagation rate constants. Two types of active centers with a chemically bonded 2,6-iPr2C6H3O-group were proposed to explain the observed phenomena in M-cat.     

Coordination polymerization at very low amounts of methylaluminoxane as cocatalyst

The effect of very low amounts of methylaluminoxane as an activating cocatalyst in the coordination polymerization has been investigated in the syndiospecific polymerization of styrene with a half-sandwich metallocene catalyst in the presence of triisobutylaluminum at molar ratios of methylaluminoxane/transition metal from 0/1 to about 20/1 in comparison to the polymerization behavior at high molar methylaluminoxane (MAO)/metal ratios.As a result, there cannot be observed any polymerization reaction below a true molar ratio MAO/Ti of 6:1. At higher molar ratios until about 20, the polymerization conversion is increasing significantly with the MAO/Ti molar ratio.These observations and the results of the determination of the kinetic reaction order can be explained with Barron’s tert-butyl aluminoxane based model of MAO as a cage of six monomeric MAO units (AlOMe)₆ in contrast to Sinn’s MAO model of a cage of twelve monomeric units (AlOMe)₁₂ and are discussed with the results received at usually applied much higher MAO/transition metal ratios leading to a first-order dependence of the polymerization rate on the MAO concentration.From the thermal behavior of the syndiotactic polystyrenes synthesized it can be concluded, that the stereospecificity of the polymerization reaction is not affected by MAO at low MAO concentrations.     

Syndiospecific polymerization of styrene in the presence of new titanium complexes with dialkanolamines: Titanocanes and bistitanocanes

The syndiospecific polymerization of styrene is studied in the presence of titanium complexes with dialkanolamines—bistitanocanes and titanocane—activated by individual MAO or the combined cocatalyst MAO/TIBA. It is shown that these catalysts are more active and stereospecific after their activation with the combined cocatalyst ([TIBA]: [MAO] ≤ 0.13) than that in the case of the activation with MAO: The activities of the catalysts are ≤18 and 9 kg PS/(mol Ti h), and the syndiotacticities of PS are ≤76 and 60%, respectively. Polymers synthesized in the presence of bistitanocanes are characterized by M _n ≤ 4.5 × 10⁴ and T _m ≤ 268°C and a narrow molecular-mass distribution (≤2.5).     

新型Cp'Ti(O-C_6H_4-X)_3茂钛催化剂的苯乙烯间规本体聚合研究

对位卤代的苯酚与五甲基茂三氯化钛在三乙胺存在下进行酯化反应 ,制得五甲基茂基三 (对 卤代苯氧基 )钛的 4种新型化合物Cp Ti(O C6 H4 X) 3(X =F ,Cl,Br,I) .用作主催化剂经甲基铝氧烷 (MAO)和三异丁基铝 (TIBA)活化 ,对苯乙烯间规聚合显示出极高的催化活性 ,催化剂热稳定性好 ,制得的聚苯乙烯间规度、分子量和熔点均高 ,在MAO TIBA Ti =4 0 0 2 0 0 1(摩尔比 ) ,温度 6 0℃时 ,10min催化效率可达 3 4 7× 10 6gPS mol·Ti,MAO TIBA Ti=4 0 0 2 0 0 1时茂钛化合物的催化活性几乎是MAO Ti=6 0 0时的 10倍以上 ;4种茂钛催化剂的活性次序Cp Ti(O C6 H4 F) 3 >Cp Ti(O C6 H4 Cl) 3 >Cp Ti(O C6 H4 Br) 3 >Cp Ti(O C6 H4 I) 3 .     

茂钛均相催化剂丁二烯聚合研究

由五甲基单茂钛化合物Cp TiL3 和甲基铝氧烷 (MAO)组成的催化体系进行丁二烯聚合 .考察具有不同辅助配体L的主催化剂Cp TiL3 及外加三异丁基铝 (TIBA)对聚合的选择性 ;讨论了聚合温度、AlMAO Ti摩尔比和催化剂浓度对聚合反应的影响 .发现外加适量TIBA有助于提高催化活性 ,而且随着TIBA用量的增加聚丁二烯分子量增加 .结合钛氧化态分析 ,说明催化体系中Ti(Ⅲ )活性中心更有利于丁二烯聚合     

Metallocene/mao polymerization catalysts supported on cyclodextrin

By treating cyclodextrin(CD) with methylaluminoxane (MAO such as PMAO or MMAO) or trimethylaluminium (TMA) followed by Cp₂ZrCl₂, CD/PMAO/Cp₂ZrCl₂, CD/MMAO/Cp₂ZrCl₂ and CD/TMA/Cp₂ZrCl₂ catalysts were prepared. The catalysts were analyzed by ¹³C-CP/MAS NMR spectrometer and ICP to examine the structure of catalyst and content of Zr and Al. Ethylene polymerization was conducted with MAO or TMA as cocatalyst. Styrene polymerization was also carried out with α-CD/MMAO/Cp*TiCl₃ and α-CD/TMA/Cp*TiCl₃ catalysts. While the ordinary trialkylaluminium such as TMA as well as MAO can be used as cocatalyst for ethylene polymerization, only MAO could initiate the styrene polymerization with α-CD supported catalysts.     

Effect of 1-Hexene Comonomer on Polyethylene Particle Growth and Kinetic Profiles

Summary: The polymer growth and the microstructure of the final polymer are greatly affected by mass transfer, especially in the early stages of polymerization. In the present work, the catalytic system (nBuCp)₂ZrCl₂/MAO immobilized over SiO₂-Al₂O₃ has been tested in ethylene-1-hexene copolymerizations using different amounts of comonomer. The catalytic activity shows a positive comonomer effect up to 1-hexene concentration of 0.724 mol/L since larger amounts of 1-hexene lead to a decrease in the activity. Copolymer properties analyzed by ¹³C NMR, GPC, CRYSTAF and DSC point to the presence of important amorphous regions in the growing polymer chains as the 1-hexene concentration increases. In order to study the incorporation of 1-hexene during ethylene polymerization, several experiments were performed with 0.194 mol/L of 1-hexene, 5 bar of ethylene pressure and different polymerization times. The incorporation of 1-hexene decreases slightly at polymerization times above 20 minutes. From cross-sectioned SEM images it can be concluded that the presence of 1-hexene helps catalyst fragmentation which could be related with the filter effect proposed by Fink.     

Highly active and easily accessible catalysts for vinyl polymerization of norbornene obtained by oxidative addition of salicylaldimine ligands to bis(1,5‐cyclooctadiene)nickel(0) and methylaluminoxane

Highly active, cheap, and easy to synthesize catalytic systems, obtained in situ by the oxidative addition of salicylaldimine ligands to bis(1,5‐cyclooctadiene)nickel(0) and activated by methylaluminoxane (MAO), are now reported for the vinyl polymerization of norbornene. Their activity resulted mainly influenced by the nature of the substituents present both on the phenolate moiety and on the N‐aryl ring as well as the content of free trimethylaluminum (TMA) present in the commercial MAO. In particular, the maximum activity, up to about 78,000 kg polynorbornene/mol Ni × h, was ascertained when 3,5‐dinitro‐N‐(2,6‐diisopropylphenyl)salicylaldimine ligand was adopted in conjunction with Ni(cod)₂ and TMA‐depleted MAO. This remarkable performance, to the best of our knowledge, the highest never reported working in toluene instead of chlorinated aromatics, was reached adopting this more sustainable reaction medium. The influence of the main reaction parameters such as reaction time, temperature, monomer/Ni, and Al/Ni molar ratios on the catalytic performances and polymer characteristics was studied as well. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

The influence of comonomer on ethylene/α-olefin copolymers prepared using [bis(N-(3-tert butylsalicylidene)anilinato)] titanium (IV) dichloride complex

We describe the synthesis of [bis(N-(3-tert-butylsalicylidene)anilinato)] titanium (IV) dichloride (Ti-FI complex) and examine the effects of comonomer (feed concentration and type) on its catalytic performance and properties of the resulting polymers. Ethylene/1-hexene and ethylene/1-octene copolymers were prepared through copolymerization using Ti-FI catalyst, activated by MAO cocatalyst at 323 K and 50 psi ethylene pressure at various initial comonomer concentrations. The obtained copolymers were characterized by DSC, GPC and 13C-NMR. The results indicate that Ti-FI complex performs as a high potential catalyst, as evidenced by high activity and high molecular weight and uniform molecular weight distribution of its products. Nevertheless, the bulky structure of FI catalyst seems to hinder the insertion of α-olefin comonomer, contributing to the pretty low comonomer incorporation into the polymer chain. The catalytic activity was enhanced with the comonomer feed concentration, but the molecular weight and melting temperature decreased. By comparison both sets of catalytic systems, namely ethylene/1-hexene and ethylene/1-octene copolymerization, the first one afforded better activity by reason of easier insertion of short chain comonomer. Although 1-hexene copolymers also exhibited higher molecular weight than 1-octene, no significant difference in both melting temperature and crystallinity can be noticed between these comonomers.     

Strong influences of cocatalyst on ethylene/propylene copolymerization with a MgCl2/SiO2/TiCl4/diester type Ziegler-Natta catalyst

Using triethylaluminum (TEA), triisobutylaluminum (TIBA) or TEA/TIBA mixtures of molar ratio 75/25, 50/50 and 25/75 as the cocatalyst, five different ethylene-propylene copolymer samples were synthesized by a MgCl₂/SiO₂/TiCl₄/diester type Ziegler-Natta catalyst in a slurry polymerization process. The synthesized copolymers are strongly heterogeneous in chain structure and were fractionated into part of nearly random copolymer and part of segmented copolymer. Both polymerization activity and copolymer structure were found to be markedly changed when the cocatalyst was changed from TEA to TEA/TIBA mixtures or pure TIBA. As the content of TEA in cocatalyst increases, yield of the random part of product increases and the yield of the crystalline segmented copolymer part decreases. There is also a decrease in ethylene content of the whole product with increasing TEA amount. Copolymerization behaviors of the TEA/TIBA mixture activated catalysis systems are not simple superposition of those activated by pure TEA and TIBA. When a 50/50 TEA/TIBA mixture was used as cocatalyst, the copolymerization activity became the highest, and yields of both the random copolymer part and the segmented copolymer part are close to the highest level. On the other hand, both parts of the copolymer produced with a 50/50 TEA/TIBA mixture are relatively more blocky than the products of TEA or TIBA systems, and difference in ethylene content between the random part and the segmented part was the smallest. The segmented copolymer part of three typical samples was further fractionated by temperature-gradient extraction fractionation into fractions of different ethylene content and sequence distribution. Changing TEA content in the cocatalyst exerted strong influences also on the fraction distribution of the segmented part of copolymer.     

Metallocene–methylaluminoxane catalysts for olefin polymerization. I. Trimethylaluminum as coactivator

Ethylene was polymerized by Cp₂ZrCl₂–methylaluminoxane (MAO) catalysts where a portion of the MAO was replaced with trimethyl aluminum (TMA). At a total Al to Zr ratio of 1070, there is neither appreciable loss of productivity nor change in polymerization profile for TMA/MAO ≤ 10. The productivity is reduced only by two- to three-fold for TMA/MAO ≤ 100 accompanied by a 10 min induction period. Aging of this catalyst did not affect the induction period, but improves its productivity. The kinetic isotope effect for radiolabeling with tritiated methanol is 2.0. About 40% of the Zr is active for the catalyst with {99 [TMA] + 1[MAO]} to Zr ratio of 100. The rate constants for propagation and chain transfer were obtained. The mechanisms for the mixed TMA and MAO cocatalyst system are discussed. The results of this work have important practical significance. MAO is a hazardous material to synthesize and only in low yields. The replacement of > 90% of MAO with TMA represents a substantial saving since as much as 0.1M of the former is commonly used for a polymerization.     

Bis(2‐(6‐methylpyridin‐2‐yl)‐benzimidazolyl)titanium dichloride and titanium bis(6‐benzimidazolylpyridine‐2‐carboxylimidate): Synthesis,characterization, and their catalytic behaviors for ethylene polymerization

A series of 6‐(benzimidazol‐2‐yl)‐N‐organylpyridine‐2‐carboxamide were synthesized and transformed into 6‐benzimidazolylpyridine‐2‐carboxylimidate as dianionic tridentate ligands. Bis(2‐(6‐methylpyridin‐2‐yl)‐benzimidazolyl)titanium dichloride ( C1 ) and titanium bis(6‐benzimidazolylpyridine‐2‐carboxylimidate) ( C2 – C8 ) were synthesized in acceptable yields. These complexes were systematically characterized by elemental and NMR analyses. Crystallographic analysis revealed the distorted octahedral geometry around titanium in both complexes C1 and C4 . Using MAO as cocatalyst, all complexes exhibited from good to high catalytic activities for ethylene polymerization. The neutral bis(6‐benzimidazolylpyridine‐2‐carboxylimidate)titanium ( C2 – C8 ) showed high catalytic activities and good stability for prolonged reaction time and elevated reaction temperature; however, C1 showed a short lifetime in catalysis as being observed at very low activity after 5 min. The elevated reaction temperature enhanced the productivity of polyethylenes with low molecular weights, whereas the reaction with higher ethylene pressure resulted in better catalytic activity and resultant polyethylenes with higher molecular weights. At higher ratio of MAO to titanium precursor, the catalytic system generated better activity with producing polyethylenes with lower molecular weights. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 3411–3423, 2008