Effect of experimental conditions on ethylene polymerization with in‐situ‐supported metallocene catalyst

Ethylene polymerization was carried out with a novel in‐situ‐supported metallocene catalyst that eliminates the need for a supporting step before polymerization. The influence of the metallocene amount, aluminum to zirconium mole ratio, temperature, pressure, and cocatalyst type on polymerization kinetics and molecular weight distribution of the produced polyethylene was studied. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 1803–1810, 2000     

A study of polyethylene-gr-2-tert-butyl amino methacrylate-supported TiCl4 catalyst for ethylene polymerization

The use of a polyethylene-based copolymer with dual functional groups (polyethylene-gr-2-tert-butyl amino ethyl methacrylate) as the support for TiCl₄ catalyst in ethylene polymerization was studied. Different methods for treating the support were examined and treatment with BuMgCl was found to be the most effective. With the BuMgCl-modified support, a 12-run Plackett-Burman design was used to screen 11 factors in catalyst preparation. Statistical analysis of the results from this design identified significant factors with the amount of BuMgCl singled out to be the most important one for the four response variables of interest, Mg loading, Ti loading, catalyst activity per gram catalyst, and catalyst activity per gram Ti. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Preparation and application of a novel core–shell‐particle‐supported zirconocene catalyst

The use of functional groups bearing silica/poly(styrene‐co‐4‐vinylpyridine) core–shell particles as a support for a zirconocene catalyst in ethylene polymerization was studied. Several factors affecting the behavior of the supported catalyst and the properties of the resulting polymer, such as time, temperature, Al/N (molar ratio), and Al/Zr (molar ratio), were examined. The conditions of the supported catalyst preparation were more important than those of the ethylene polymerization. The state of the supported catalyst itself played a decisive role in both the catalytic behavior of the supported catalyst and the properties of polyethylene (PE). IR and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to follow the formation of the supports. The formation of cationic active species is hypothesized, and the performance of the core–shell‐particle‐supported zirconocene catalyst is discussed as well. The bulk density of the PE formed was higher than that of the polymer obtained from homogeneous and polymer‐supported Cp₂ZrCl₂/methylaluminoxane catalyst systems. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 39: 2085–2092, 2001     

Preparation of functionalized montmorillonites and their application in supported zirconocene catalysts for ethylene polymerization

Ethylene polymerization was carried out with zirconocene catalysts supported on montmorillonite (or functionalized montmorillonite). The functionalized montmorillonite was from simple ion exchange of [CH₃O₂CCH₂NH₃]⁺ (MeGlyH⁺) ions with interlamellar cations of layered montmorillonites. The functionalized montmorillonites [high‐purity montmorillonite (MMT)‐MeGlyH⁺] had larger interlayer spacing (12.69 Å) than montmorillonites without treatment (9.65 Å). The zirconocene catalyst system [Cp₂ZrCl₂/methylaluminoxane (MAO)/MMT‐MeGlyH⁺] had much higher Zr loading and higher activities than those of other zirconocene catalyst systems (Cp₂ZrCl₂/MMT, Cp₂ZrCl₂/MMT‐MeGlyH⁺, Cp₂ZrCl₂/MAO/MMT, [Cp₂ZrCl]⁺[BF₄]/MMT, [Cp₂ZrCl]⁺[BF₄]^?/MMT‐MeGlyH⁺, [Cp₂ZrCl]⁺[BF₄]^?/MAO/MMT‐MeGlyH⁺, and [Cp₂ZrCl]⁺[BF₄]^?/MAO/MMT). The polyethylenes with good bulk density were obtained from the catalyst systems, particularly (Cp₂ZrCl₂/MAO/MMT‐MeGlyH⁺). MeGlyH⁺ and MAO seemed to play important roles for preparation of the supported zirconocenes and polymerization of ethylene. The difference in Zr loading and catalytic activity among the supported zirconocene catalysts is discussed. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 1892–1898, 2002     

Heptane-soluble homogeneous zirconocene catalyst: Synthesis of a single diastereomer,polymerization catalysis,and effect of silica supports

Bis(1-indenyl)-di[1′S, 2′R, 5′S)-methoxy]silane ( 1 ) was converted into a mixture of corresponding ansa-diastereomeric zirconocenes. Further purification afforded a single dia-stereomer, di[(1′S, 2′R, 5′S)-methoxy] silylene-bis[η⁵-1(R, R)-(+)-indenyl] dichlorozirconium ( 2 ), which is optically active and hydrocarbon soluble. Extremely rapid ethylene, propylene, and ethylene-hexene polymerizations were observed both in toluene and n-heptane solutions; for instance, at 50°C, activity for ethylene polymerization reaches ～ 1.5×10¹⁰ (g of PE/((mol of Zr) · [C₂H₄] · h). The “bare” zirconocenium ion generated from 2/TIBA/Ph₃CB(C₆F₅)₄ exhibits unusual polymerization behaviors; the polymerization activity increases monotonically with temperature of polymerization (T_p) up to a conventional polymerization condition (50–70°C), and the ¹³C NMR study shows that the isotactic poly-propylene obtained has fairly high [mmmm] methyl pentad distributions at high T_p (?25°C with [mmmm] ～ 0.93–0.75) and a perfect stereoregularity at low T_p (?0°C with [mmmm] > 0.99). The catalyst precursors 2 and Et(Ind)₂ZrCl₂ ( 3 ) supported on silica by different approaches produced poly(olefins) of different molecular weights and stereoregularities, and a methylaluminokane and Ph₃CB(C₆F₅)₄ free silica-supported zirconocene system was found to be activated by triisobutylaluminum. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Polymer‐supported half‐titanocene catalysts for the syndiospecific polymerization of styrene

Monocyclopendienyltitanium trichloride (CpTiCl₃) was supported on polymer carriers with different hydroxyl contents, and the supported catalysts were used for styrene polymerization. The supported catalysts exhibited high activity even at low Al/Ti ratios and increased the molecular weight of the products, indicating that polymer carriers could stabilize the active sites. The polymers prepared with unsupported and supported catalysts were extracted with boiling n‐butanone and characterized by carbon nuclear magnetic resonance (¹³C NMR) and differential scanning calorimetry. The polymers obtained by supported catalysts had a high fraction of boiling n‐butanone‐insoluble part and high melting temperatures, but ¹³C NMR results showed that syndiotacticity decreased compared with that of polymers prepared with an unsupported catalyst. ESR study on the supported catalysts confirmed that the active sites supported on the carrier dropped into the solution and formed active sites the same as those in the unsupported system when they reacted with methylaluminoxane. ¹³C NMR analysis showed that the polymerization mechanism of the supported active sites was an active‐site controlled mechanism instead of a chain‐end controlled mechanism of the unsupported active sites. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 127–135, 2000     

高分子化铁系烯烃聚合催化剂的合成及乙烯聚合

合成了含烯丙基不对称型的“茂后”催化剂[ArN=C(Me)][Ar'N=C(Me)]C~5H~3NFeCl~2[Ar=2,6-(i-Pr)~2C~6H~3,Ar'=4-烯丙基-2,6-(i-Pr)~2C~6H~3]，通过IR，^1HNMR,EI-MS,EA对化合物进行表征。利用这个催化剂上的烯烃基团在自由基引发下与苯乙烯共聚，制备出高分子化的“茂后”催化剂。研究了高分子化前后催化剂催化乙烯聚合行为，高分子化的催化剂在常压13℃下催化乙烯聚合时，活性最高达到2.5×10^6gPE/molFe.h，高于未高分子化之前催化剂的活性。证明了高分子化是“茂后”催化剂理想的固载化方式。     

Effects of ethylene polymerization conditions on the activity of SiO2-supported zirconocene and on polymer properties

The effects of polymerization conditions were evaluated on the production of polyethylene by silica-supported (n-BuCp)₂ZrCl₂ grafted under optimized conditions and cocatalyzed by methylaluminoxane (MAO). The Al : Zr molar ratio, reaction temperature, monomer pressure, and the age and concentration of the catalyst were systematically varied. Most reactions were performed in toluene. Hexane, with the addition of triisobutilaluminum (TIBA) to MAO, was also tested as a polymerization solvent for both homogeneous and heterogeneous catalyst systems. Polymerization reactions in hexane showed their highest activities with MAO : TIBA ratios of 3 : 1 and 1 : 1 for the homogeneous and supported systems, respectively. Catalyst activity increased continuously as Al : Zr molar ratios increased from 0 to 2000, and remained constant up to 5000. The highest activity was observed at 333 K. High monomer pressures (≈ 4 atm) appeared to stabilize active species during polymerization, producing polyethylenes with high molecular weight (≈ 3 × 10⁵ g mol⁻¹). Catalyst concentration had no significant effect on polymerization activity or polymer properties. Catalyst aging under inert atmosphere was evaluated over 6 months; a pronounced reduction in catalyst activity [from 20 to 13 × 10⁵ g PE (mol Zr h)⁻¹] was observed only after the first two days following preparation. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 1987–1996, 1999     

Polymer‐supported macrocyclic Schiff base palladium complex as an efficient catalyst for the Heck reaction

A polymer‐supported macrocyclic Schiff base palladium complex has been synthesized. In the Heck reaction of aryl iodides and bromides with ethyl acrylate or styrene, the complex has been proved to give the corresponding products in good to excellent yields. The reaction proceeded smoothly in the presence of 0.5 mol% of catalyst in DMF within 1–4 h. Recycling studies have shown that the catalyst can be readily recovered and reused for four cycles with only a slightly decrease in its activity. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Polymer‐supported 4‐aminoformoyldiphenylammonium triflate (PS‐AFDPAT): An efficient,recoverable and recyclable catalyst for esterification of carboxylic acids with equimolar amounts of alcohols

Polymer‐supported 4‐aminofonnoyldiphenylammonium triflate (PS‐AFDPAT) is an efficient catalyst for the esterification between equimolar amounts of carboxylic acids and alcohols under mild conditions, which can be recycled without loss of activity.     

Copolymerization of ethylene with 1‐hexene over metallocene catalyst supported on complex of magnesium chloride with tetrahydrofuran

The study of ethylene/1‐hexene copolymerization with the zirconocene catalyst, bis(cyclopentadienyl)zirconium dichloride (Cp₂ZrCl₂)/methylaluminoxane (MAO), anchored on a MgCl₂(THF)₂ support was carried out. The influence of 1‐hexene concentration in the feed on catalyst productivity and comonomer reactivity as well as other properties was investigated. Additionally, the effect of support modification by the organoaluminum compounds [(MAO, trimethlaluminum (AlMe₃), or diethylaluminum chloride (Et₂AlCl)] on the behavior of the MgCl₂(THF)₂/Cp₂ZrCl₂/MAO catalyst in the copolymerization process and on the properties of the copolymers was explored. Immobilization of the Cp₂ZrCl₂ compound on the complex magnesium support MgCl₂(THF)₂ resulted in an effective system for the copolymerization of ethylene with 1‐hexene. The modification of the support as well as the kind of organoaluminum compound used as a modifier influenced the activity of the examined catalyst system. Additionally, the profitable influence of immobilization of the homogeneous catalyst as well as modification of the support applied on the molecular weight and molecular weight distribution of the copolymers was established. Finally, with the successive self‐nucleation/annealing procedure, the copolymers obtained over both homogeneous and heterogeneous metallocene catalysts were heterogeneous with respect to their chemical composition. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 2512–2519, 2004     

High‐temperature ethylene/α‐olefin copolymerization with a zirconocene catalyst: Effects of the zirconocene ligand and polymerization conditions on copolymerization behavior

Copolymerizations of ethylene and α‐olefin with various zirconocene compounds at a high temperature were carried out to study the relationship between the ligand structure of zirconocene compounds and the copolymerization behavior. All of the indenyl‐based zirconocene compounds in combination with dimethylanilinium tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)borate/triisobutylaluminum produced only low molecular weight copolymers at a high temperature, regardless of the substituents and bridged structures of the zirconocene compounds. However, zirconocene compounds with a fluorenyl ligand gave rise to a significant increase in the activity and molecular weight of the copolymers by the selection of a diphenylmethylene bridge structure even at a high temperature. Ethylene/1‐hexene copolymers obtained with the fluorenyl‐based catalysts contained inner double bonds accompanied by the generation of hydrogen, presumably because of a C H bond activation mechanism. The contents of the inner double bonds were significantly influenced by the polymerization conditions, including the 1‐hexene feed content, polymerization temperature, and ethylene pressure. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 4641–4648, 2000     

Hexene-1 polymerization by homogeneous zirconocene and heterogeneous-supported TiCl3 catalysts

MgCl₂-supported TiCl₃ catalysts, with and/or without electron donor modifier (internal B_i or external B_e), were compared with rac-ethylenebis(indenyl)zirconium dichloride ( 1 ) activated with either MAO or the cation forming agent, triphenyl carbenium tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)borate ( 2 ), with triethylalumium (TEA). The activities of the heterogeneous catalysts depend on the presence or absence of the Lewis base, were relatively insensitive to the temperature of polymerization, and produce poly(hexene) with molecular weights up to 10⁶. The 1 /MAO catalyst has about five times higher activity at 50°C but is almost inactive at ?30°C; the overall activation energy is 12.4 kcal mol^?1. In contrast, the activity for hexene polymerization by the 1/2 /TEA catalyst is actually slightly greater at lower temperature. The MW's of poly(hexene) obtained with the zirconocenium catalysts are only in the tens of thousands because of rapid β-hydride elimination by the electrophilic cationic Zr center. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Copolymerization of ethylene or propylene with α‐olefins containing hydroxyl groups with zirconocene/methylaluminoxane catalyst

Copolymerization of olefins (ethylene and propylene) and 5‐hexen‐1‐ol pretreated with alkylaluminum was performed using [dimethysilylbis(9‐fluorenyl)]zirconium dichloride/methylaluminoxane as the catalyst. The copolymerization required extra addition of alkylaluminum to prevent deactivation of the catalyst when 5‐hexen‐1‐ol was pretreated with trimethylaluminum, whereas the triisobutylaluminum‐treated system did not require any addition of alkylaluminum. The molecular weight of the copolymer depended on the kind of alkylaluminum compound (masking reagent, additive, and cocatalyst). ¹³C NMR analysis proved that poly(ethylene‐co‐5‐hexen‐1‐ol) containing 50 mol % of 5‐hexen‐1‐ol acted as an alternating copolymer, whereas the poly(propylene‐co‐5‐hexen‐1‐ol) acted as a random copolymer. The surface property of the copolymers was simply evaluated by means of water drop contact angle measurement. It was found that the copolymers containing large amounts of 5‐hexen‐1‐ol units showed good hydrophilic properties. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 52–58, 2004     

Molecular sieves supported recyclable catalyst for atom transfer radical polymerization using hydration approach

Molecular Sieves (MS) were used as a recyclable support for atom transfer radical polymerization. The catalyst complex, CuBr₂/ligand was supported on hydrated MS and used for the polymerization of benzyl methacrylate at room temperature in anisole. The polymerization using CuBr₂/PMDETA (pentamethyl diethyltetraamine) catalyst that is physically held by the hydration of MS exhibited moderate control and produced catalyst free polymers (<0.1 ppm) with narrow molecular weight distribution (M_w/M_n ≤ 1.33). The polymerization occurred at the interface between the hydrated support and the solution containing initiator and monomer. The hydrated MS supported catalyst was recycled efficiently without a significant loss in activity. The polymerization proceeded in a “living”/controlled manner as was evident from first‐order time conversion plots. The split kinetics experiment affirmed that there was no propagation in the solution in the absence of the supported catalyst. The reaction order plot showed zero‐order dependence on the bulk initiator concentration in solution. The results of MS supported catalyst were compared to Na‐clay supported catalyst system and the improved results were attributed to high self‐diffusion coefficient and low diffusion activation energy of water on its surface. Published 2017.^§ J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55, 3875–3883     

One-phase supported titanium-based catalyst for polymerization of ethylene. IV. Effect of alkyl group at organoaluminium compound on catalyst performance

The effect of a basic layer (SiO₂—R₃Al intermediate) in the one-phase silica supported titanium-based catalyst was investigated using the simple model catalyst systems obtained by reacting the activated silica gel consecutively with R₃Al and TiCl₄. Mode of the interaction of SiO₂ with R₃Al—resulting in the formation of the basic layer—was observed via analysis of the concentration of the unreacted OH groups on the silica surface employing IR spectroscopy and via analysis of the concentration of aluminium in solvent using AA spectroscopy. It was found that nature of the alkyl group in R₃Al modified the structure of the basic layer, thus influencing the catalyst performance including the concentration of both the sum of Ti²⁺ and Ti³⁺ and the ESR-active Ti (III) centers. The sum of Ti²⁺ and Ti³⁺ ranged from 45 to 52 mol % and the amount of the ESR-active Ti (III) species ranged from 6 to 17 mol % of the all titanium content. A significant effect of alkyl group at organoaluminium compound on the molecular weight distribution of the resulting polymer was observed. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Preparation and characterization of SBA‐15 supported iron(II)‐bisimine pyridine catalyst for ethylene polymerization

2,6‐Diacetylpyridinebis (2,6‐diisopropylani) iron dichloride, a late‐transition metal catalyst for olefin polymerization, was supported on SBA‐15 successfully and the property of the supported catalyst was carefully studied. Ethylene polymerization was systematically investigated in the presence of MAO under various conditions employing this type of catalyst system. In general, after support, a decrease in the catalytic activity was observed and higher molecular weight and fibrous morphology of polyethylene were obtained. The “extrusion polymerization” phenomenon was observed in ethylene polymerization by using the supported catalyst system. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 4830–4837, 2004     

A theoretical study of the comonomer effect in the ethylene polymerization with zirconocene catalytic systems

The PM3(tm) semiempirical method has been used to optimize the structures for the reactants and transition states of the first and second ethylene insertion processes into zirconocene catalytic systems. The results obtained for these reactions are compared with calculations published in the literature performed at different ab-initio theoretical levels. The agreement between our calculations and those reported in the literature is satisfactory. Taking advantage of the reduced computational effort required in semiempirical calculations two additional processes related with the so-called comonomer effect were also studied: ethylene/1-hexene copolymerization, and chain termination reaction, both in the homopolymerization and in copolymerization of ethylene with 1-hexene comonomer. The calculated activation energies support some experimental findings such as the higher polymerization activities in the presence of comonomers and also the molecular weight reduction of the copolymers due to the more favorable β-elimination reactions. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 1157–1167, 1998