Molecular modeling on the prediction of silolene‐bridged indenyl metallocene catalysts for isotactic polypropylene

Two new silolene‐bridged metallocenes for isotactic polypropylene, racemic (1,4‐butanediyl) silylene‐bis (1‐η⁵‐2‐methyl‐indenyl) dichlorozironium and racemic diphenyl silylene‐bis (1‐η⁵‐2‐methyl‐indenyl) dichlorozironium, were designed in terms of the mechanism and concept of the activity and selectivity of metallocenes. The predictions on which the designs were based were carried out for four metallocene catalysts through molecular modeling methods such as molecular mechanics and charge equilibrium. In a comparison of the data from three of the catalysts that were successfully synthesized, the predicted orders of the activity and selectivity were consistent. This shows that classical methods such as charge equilibrium are useful in predicting the activity of catalysts. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 2232–2238, 2000     

Kinetics of propylene polymerization initiated by rac‐Me2Si(1‐C5H2‐2‐Me‐4‐tBu)2Zr(NME2)2/MAO catalyst

The kinetics of propylene polymerization initiated by ansa‐metallocene diamide compound rac‐Me₂Si(CMB)₂Zr(NMe₂)₂ (rac‐1, CMB = 1‐C₅H₂‐2‐Me‐4‐^tBu)/methylaluminoxane (MAO) catalyst were investigated. The formation of cationic active species has been studied by the sequential NMR‐scale reactions of rac‐1 with MAO. The rac‐1 is first transformed to rac‐Me₂Si(CMB)₂ZrMe₂ (rac‐2) through the alkylation mainly by free AlMe₃ contained in MAO. The methylzirconium cations are then formed by the reaction of rac‐2 and MAO. Small amount of MAO ([Al]/[Zr] = 40) is enough to completely activate rac‐1 to afford methylzirconium cations that can polymerize propylene. In the lab‐scale polymerizations carried out at 30°C in toluene, the rate of polymerization (R_p) shows maximum at [Al]/[Zr] = 6,250. The R_p increases as the polymerization temperature (T_p) increases in the range of T_p between 10 and 70°C and as the catalyst concentration increases in the range between 21.9 and 109.6 μM. The activation energies evaluated by simple kinetic scheme are 4.7 kcal/mol during the acceleration period of polymerization and 12.2 kcal/mol for an overall reaction. The introduction of additional free AlMe₃ before activating rac‐1 with MAO during polymerization deeply influences the polymerization behavior. The iPPs obtained at various conditions are characterized by high melting point (approximately 155°C), high stereoregularity (almost 100% [mmmm] pentad), low molecular weight (MW), and narrow molecular weight distribution (below 2.0). The fractionation results by various solvents show that iPPs produced at T_p below 30°C are compositionally homogeneous, but those obtained at T_p above 40°C are separated into many fractions. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 737–750, 1999     

Ethylene‐Norbornene Terpolymerization with 5‐Vinyl‐2‐norbornene Using Single‐Site Catalysts

The incorporation of 5‐vinyl‐2‐norbornene (VNB) into ethylene‐norbornene copolymer was investigated with catalysts [Ph₂C(Fluo)(Cp)]ZrCl₂ ( 1 ), rac‐[Et(Ind)₂]ZrCl₂ ( 2 ), and [Me₂Si(Me₄Cp)^tBuN]TiCl₂ ( 3 ) in the presence of MAO by terpolymerizing different amounts of 5‐vinyl‐2‐norbornene with constant amounts of ethylene and norbornene at 60°C. The highest cycloolefin incorporations and highest activity in terpolymerizations were achieved with 1 . The distribution of the monomers in the terpolymer chain was determined by NMR spectroscopy. As confirmed by XRD and DSC analysis, catalysts 1 and 3 produced amorphous terpolymer, whereas 2 yielded terpolymer with crystalline fragments of long ethylene sequences. When compared with poly‐(ethylene‐co‐norbornene), VNB increased both the glass transition temperatures and molar masses of terpolymers produced with the constrained geometry catalyst whereas decreased those for the metallocenes.     

Synthesis and Structures of ansa‐Titanocene Complexes with Diatomic Bridging Units for Overall Water Splitting

The synthesis of a series of ansa‐titanocene dichlorides [Cp′₂TiCl₂] (Cp′=bridged η⁵‐tetramethylcyclopentadienyl) and the corresponding titanocene bis(trimethylsilyl)acetylene complexes [Cp′₂Ti(η²‐Me₃SiC₂SiMe₃)] is described. The ethanediyl‐bridged complexes [C₂H₄(C₅Me₄)₂TiCl₂] ( 2 ‐Cl₂) and [C₂H₄(C₅Me₄)₂Ti(η²‐Me₃SiC₂SiMe₃)] ( 2‐ btmsa; btmsa=η²‐Me₃SiC₂SiMe₃) can be obtained from the hitherto unknown calcocenophane complex [C₂H₄(C₅Me₄)₂Ca(THF)₂] ( 1 ). Furthermore, a heterodiatomic bridging unit containing both, a dimethylsilyl and a methylene group was introduced to yield the ansa‐titanocene dichloride [Me₂SiCH₂(C₅Me₄)₂TiCl₂] ( 3 ‐Cl₂) and the bis(trimethylsilyl)acetylene complex [Me₂SiCH₂(C₅Me₄)₂Ti(η²‐Me₃SiC₂SiMe₃)] ( 3 ‐btmsa). Besides, tetramethyldisilyl‐ and dimethylsilyl‐bridged metallocene complexes (structural motif 4 and 5 , respectively) were prepared. All ansa‐titanocene alkyne complexes were reacted with stoichiometric amounts of water; the hydrolysis products were isolated as model complexes for the investigation of the elemental steps of overall water splitting. Compounds 1 , 2 ‐btmsa, 2 ‐(OH)₂, 3 ‐Cl₂, 3 ‐btmsa, 4 ‐(OH)₂, 3 ‐alkenyl and 5 ‐alkenyl were characterised by X‐ray diffraction analysis.     

Toward block copolymers from nonliving isospecific single‐site catalytic systems

Ethene/1‐olefin blocky copolymers were obtained through nonliving insertion copolymerizations promoted by an isospecific single site catalyst. Propene or 4‐methyl‐1‐pentene were copolymerized with ethene with metallocenes endowed with different stereospecificity in propene polymerization: (i) aspecific “constrained geometry” half‐sandwich complex, {η¹:η⁵‐([tert‐butyl‐amido)dimethylsilyl](2,3,4,5‐tetramethyl‐1‐cyclopentadienyl)}titanium dichloride [Me₂Si(Me₄Cp)(N‐^tBu)TiCl₂] ( CG ), (ii) moderately isospecific rac‐ethylenebis(indenyl)zirconium dichloride [rac‐(EBI)ZrCl₂] ( EBI ), (iii) slightly more isospecific hydrogenated homologue, rac‐ethylenebis(tetrahydroindenyl)zirconium dichloride [rac‐(EBTHI)ZrCl₂] ( EBTHI ), (iv) highly iso‐specific rac‐[methylenebis(3‐tert‐butyl‐1‐indenyl)]zirconium dichloride [rac‐H₂C‐(3‐^tBuInd)₂ZrCl₂] ( TBI ), (v) most isospecific rac‐[isopropylidene‐bis(3‐tert‐butyl‐cyclopentadienyl)]zirconium dichloride [rac‐Me₂C‐(3‐^tBuCp)₂ZrCl₂] ( TBC ). Copolymerizations were described by a 2^nd order Markovian copolymerization model and data are proposed to correlate the formation of 1‐olefin sequences with catalytic site isospecificity, made by the cooperation of organometallic complex and growing chain. Blocky copolymers were prepared over wide ranges of compositions: with any of the isospecific metallocenes when 4‐methyl‐1‐pentene was the 1‐olefin and only with the highly isospecific ones ( TBI , TBC ) when propene was the comonomer. A penultimate unit effect was observed with TBI as the metallocene, whereas a 1^st order Markov model described the ethene/propene copolymerization from TBC . A moderately isospecific metallocene, such as EBI , is shown to be able to prepare blocky ethene copolymers with 4‐methyl‐1‐pentene. These results pave the way for the synthesis of new ethene based materials. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 2063–2075, 2010     

Styrene/1,3‐butadiene copolymerization by C2‐symmetric group 4 metallocenes based catalysts

C₂‐symmetric group 4 metallocenes based catalysts (rac‐[CH₂(3‐tert‐butyl‐1‐indenyl)₂]ZrCl₂ (1) , rac‐[CH₂(1‐indenyl)₂]ZrCl₂ (2) and rac‐[CH₂(3‐tert‐butyl‐1‐indenyl)₂]TiCl₂ (3) ) are able to copolymerize styrene and 1,3‐butadiene, to give products with high molecular weight. In agreement with symmetry properties of metallocene precatalysts, styrene homosequences are in isotactic arrangements. Full determination of microstructure of copolymers was obtained by ¹³C NMR and FTIR analysis and it reveals that insertion of butadiene on styrene chain‐end happens prevailingly with 1,4‐trans configuration. In the butadiene homosequences, using zirconocene‐based catalysts, the 1,4‐trans arrangement is favored over 1,4‐cis, but the latter is prevailing in the presence of titanocene (3) . Diad composition analysis of the copolymers makes possible to estimate the reactivity ratios of copolymerization: zirconocenes (1) and (2) produced copolymers having r₁ × r₂ = 0.5 and 3.0, respectively (where 1 refers to styrene and 2 to butadiene); while titanocene (3) gave tendencially blocky styrene–butadiene copolymers (r₁ × r₂ = 8.5). The copolymers do not exhibit crystallinity, even when they contain a high molar fraction of styrene. Probably, comonomer homosequences are too short to crystallize (n_s = 16, in the copolymer at highest styrene molar fraction). © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 1476–1487, 2008     

Study of molecular size in ethylene-propene copolymerization with zirconocene and hafnocene catalysts

Ethylene-propene copolymerization was carried out with Cp₂MCl₂ (Cp = cyclopentadienyl), rac-Et(Ind)₂MCl₂, rac-Me₂Si(Ind)₂MCl₂ (Et = ethylene, Me₂Si = dimethylsilyl, Ind = indenyl, M = Zr or Hf)/methylaluminoxane. In the case of using ansa-hafnocenes, the minimum molecular size (extended chain length) of ethylene-propene copolymer was obtained at about 50 mol-% of propene content in the copolymer. The polymerization activity decreased with increase of propene feed ratio in non-bridged non-specific metallocenes. Higher polymerization activities were observed for the copolymerization compared to ethylene and propene homo-polymerization with ansa-isospecific metallocenes. The factor of molecular size lowering was studied by the chain propagation and chain transfer reaction.     

Undecacarbonyl(methylcyclopentadienyl)‐tetrahedro‐triiridiummolybdenum,undecacarbonyl(tetramethylcyclopentadienyl)‐tetrahedro‐triiridiummolybdenum and undecacarbonyl(pentamethylcyclopentadienyl)‐tetrahedro‐triiridiummolybdenum

The three title compounds tri‐μ‐carbonyl‐1:2κ²C;1:3κ²C;2:3κ²C‐octacarbonyl‐1κC,2κ²C,3κ²C,4κ³C‐η⁵‐methylcyclopentadienyl‐tetrahedro‐triiridiummolybdenum(3 Ir—Ir)(3 Ir—Mo), tri‐μ‐carbonyl‐1:2κ²C;1:3κ²C;2:3κ²C‐octacarbonyl‐1κC,2κ²C,3κ²C,4κ³C‐η⁵‐tetramethylcyclopentadienyl‐tetrahedro‐triiridiummolybdenum(3 Ir—Ir)(3 Ir—Mo) and tri‐μ‐carbonyl‐1:2κ²C;1:3κ²C;2:3κ²C‐octacarbonyl‐1κC,2κ²C,3κ²C,4κ³C‐η⁵‐pentamethylcyclopentadienyl‐tetrahedro‐triiridiummolybdenum(3 Ir—Ir)(3 Ir—Mo), [MoIr₃(η⁵‐C₅H_5?nMe_n)(μ‐CO)₃(CO)₈], where n = 1, 4 or 5, have a pseudo­tetrahedral MoIr₃ core geometry, with a η⁵‐C₅H_5?nMe_n group ligating the Mo atom, bridging carbonyls spanning the edges of an MoIr₂ face, and eight terminally bound carbonyls.     

Tacticity of poly‐α‐olefins from poly‐1‐hexene to poly‐1‐octadecene

A systematic study of the influence of the α‐olefin size, the catalyst stereospecificity and the reaction temperature was done on the catalytic activity and tacticity of poly‐α‐olefins from 1‐hexene to 1‐octadecene. The metallocenes used were rac‐Et[Ind₂]ZrCl₂ ( 1 ) and Me₂C[Cp(9‐Flu)]ZrCl₂ ( 2 ) to obtain isotactic and syndiotactic polyolefins. Some catalysts giving atactic polymers were also used in order to study all the possible ¹³C NMR pentades. Catalytic activities increased and isotacticity and syndiotacticity decreased with temperature, but no real trend was found with the α‐olefin size. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 4744–4753, 2005     

Synthesis and polymerization behavior of novel C 1 and C s titanium ansa‐cyclopentadienyl‐amido catalysts for ethylene and propylene polymerization

Four titanium ansa‐cyclopentadienyl‐amido complexes of the general formula [C₅H₃RMe₂SiN(2,6‐Me₂C₆H₃)]TiX₂(R = H,Me,Bz,^tBu;X = NMe₂ or Cl) have been synthesized. The complexes polymerize both ethylene and propylene in the presence of methylaluminoxane or Ph₃CB(C₆F₅)₄–triisobutylaluminum and were most active at lower temperatures. In general, the smaller the substituent on the cyclopentadienyl group, the more active the catalyst. The catalysts were found to be poorly stereoselective for the polymerization of polypropylene, with the tertiary‐butyl substituted catalyst giving a polymer with the greatest [mmmm] (14.2%). The structure of [C₅H₄Me₂SiN(2,6‐Me₂C₆H₃)] Ti(NMe₂)₂ was determined by X‐ray diffraction. The complex crystallizes in the monoclinic system space group P2₁/n, with a = 16.437(2), b = 8.652(3), c = 16.494(4),β = 117.54(2) and Z = 4. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Random propene/4‐methyl‐1‐pentene copolymers synthesized with C2 symmetric highly isospecific metallocenes

Propene (P)/4‐methyl‐1‐pentene (Y) copolymers in a wide range of composition were prepared with isospecific single center catalysts, rac‐Et(IndH₄)₂ZrCl₂ ( EBTHI ), rac‐Me₂Si(2‐Me‐BenzInd)₂ZrCl₂ ( MBI ), and rac‐CH₂(3‐^tBuInd)₂ZrCl₂ ( TBI ). ¹³C NMR analysis of copolymers and statistical elaboration of microstructural data at triad level were performed. Unprecedented and surprising results are here reported. Random P/Y copolymers were prepared with the most isospecific catalyst, TBI , that is known to prepare ethene/propene and ethene/4‐methyl‐1‐pentene copolymers with long homosequences of both comonomers, whereas longer homosequences of both comonomers were observed in copolymers from the less enantioselective metallocenes EBTHI and MBI . These findings, which are against what is acknowledged in the field, can pave the way for the preparation on a large scale of random propene‐based copolymers. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 2575–2585     

Reactions of rac‐(ebthi)M(η2‐Me3SiC2SiMe3) (M=Ti,Zr) with Aryl Nitriles

The reactions of the Group 4 metallocene alkyne complexes rac‐(ebthi)M(η²‐Me₃SiC₂SiMe₃) ( 1 a : M=Ti, 1 b : M=Zr; rac‐(ebthi)=rac‐1,2‐ethylene‐1,1′‐bis(η⁵‐tetrahydroindenyl)) with Ph?C?N were investigated. For 1 a , an unusual nitrile–nitrile coupling to 1‐titana‐2,5‐diazacyclopenta‐2,4‐diene ( 2 ) at ambient temperature was observed. At higher temperature, the C?C coupling of two nitriles resulted in the formation of a dinuclear complex with a four‐membered diimine bridge ( 3 ). The reaction of 1 b with Ph?C?N afforded dinuclear compound 4 and 2,4,6‐triphenyltriazine. Additionally, the reactivity of 1 b towards other nitriles was investigated.     

Olefin polymerization with Me4Cp–Amido complexes with electron‐withdrawing groups

A series of Me₄Cp–amido complexes {[η⁵:η¹‐(Me₄C₅)SiMe₂NR]TiCl₂; R = t‐Bu, 1 ; C₆H₅, 2 ; C₆F₅, 3 ; SO₂Ph, 4 ; or SO₂Me, 5 } were prepared and investigated for olefin polymerization in the presence of methylaluminoxane (MAO). X‐ray crystallography of complexes 3 and 4 revealed very long Ti N bonds relative to the bonds of 1 . These complexes were employed for ethylene–styrene copolymerizations, styrene homopolymerizations, and propylene homopolymerizations in the presence of MAO. The productivities of the catalysts derived from 3 – 5 were much lower than the productivity of the catalyst derived from 1 for the propylene polymerizations and ethylene–styrene copolymerizations, whereas the styrene polymerization activities were much higher for the catalysts derived from 3 – 5 than for the catalyst derived from 1 . The polymerization behavior of the catalysts derived from the metallocenes 3 – 5 were more reminiscent of monocyclopentadienyl titanocene Cp′TiX₃/MAO catalysts than of CpATiX₂/MAO catalysts such as 1 containing alkylamido ligands. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 4649–4660, 2000     

New tethered ansa‐bridged zirconium catalysts: Insights into the “self‐immobilization” mechanism

New ω‐alkenyl‐substituted ansa‐bridged bisindenyl zirconium complexes are prepared and tested as self‐immobilized catalysts for ethene polymerization. But, even at very high concentration of the tethered complexes and low pressure of ethene, there is no evidence of their insertion into the polyethene chain. A “cross polymerization” test, performed by copolymerizing the tethered complexes with ethene using rac‐Me₂Si(2‐MeBenzInd)₂ZrCl₂ ( MBI ), does not lead to their incorporation into the polyethene chain. However, the corresponding ligand proves to be a suitable comonomer for ethene, and, through copolymerization promoted by MBI, innovative poly(ethene‐co‐2,2′‐bis[(1H‐inden‐3′‐yl)‐hex‐5‐ene) copolymers are prepared and characterized by ¹³C NMR. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2013     

MAO‐free polymerization of propylene by rac‐ Me2Si(1‐C5H2‐2‐Me‐4‐tBu)2Zr(NMe2)2 compound

Ansa‐zirconocene diamide complex rac‐Me₂Si(CMB)₂Zr(NMe₂)₂ (rac‐1, CMB = 1‐C₅H₂‐2‐Me‐4‐^tBu) reacts with AlR₃ (R = Me, Et, i‐Bu) and then with [CPh₃]⁺[B(C₆F₅)₄]⁻ (2) in toluene in order to in situ generate cationic alkylzirconium species. In the sequential NMR‐scale reactions of rac‐1 with various amount of AlMe₃ and 2, rac‐1 transforms first to rac‐Me₂Si(CMB)₂Zr(Me)(NMe₂) (rac‐3) and rac‐Me₂Si(CMB)₂ZrMe₂ (rac‐4) by the reaction with AlMe₃, and then to [rac‐Me₂Si(CMB)₂ZrMe]⁺ (5⁺) cation by the reaction of the resulting mixtures with 2. The activities of propylene polymerizations by rac‐1/Al(i‐Bu)₃/2 system are dependent on the type and concentration of AlR₃, resulting in the order of activity: rac‐1/Al(i‐Bu)₃/2 > rac‐1/AlEt₃/2 > rac‐1/MAO ≫ rac‐1/AlMe₃/2 system. The bulkier isobutyl substituents make inactive catalytic species sterically unfavorable and give rise to more separated ion pairs so that the monomers can easily access to the active sites. The dependence of the maximum rate (R_{p, max}) on polymerization temperature (T_p) obtained by rac‐1/Al(i‐Bu)₃/2 system follows Arrhenius relation, and the overall activation energy corresponds to 0.34 kcal/mol. The molecular weight (MW) of the resulting isotactic polypropylene (iPP) is not sensitive to Al(i‐Bu)₃ concentration. The analysis of regiochemical errors of iPP shows that the chain transfer to Al(i‐Bu)₃ is a minor chain termination. The 1,3‐addition of propylene monomer is the main source of regiochemical sequence and the [mr] sequence is negligible, as a result the meso pentad ([mmmm]) values of iPPs are very high ([mmmm] > 94%). These results can explain the fact that rac‐1/Al(i‐Bu)₃/2 system keeps high activity over a wide range of [Al(i‐Bu)₃]/[Zr] ratio between 32 and 3,260. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 1071–1082, 1999     

Investigation of the microstructure of polypropylene prepared with ansa and fluxional metallocene catalysts with an extended Coleman–Fox model

Temperature (T) effects on the microstructure of polypropylene made with metallocene catalysts have been investigated with the theoretical framework originally developed by Coleman and Fox and extended to the stereospecific polymerization of propylene with two‐state ansa and fluxional metallocene catalysts. T effects on the polymer microstructure are mainly due to factors other than changes in the intrinsic stereoselectivity of the two states. The model has been applied to the stereosequence distributions of polypropylene prepared with the C₁‐symmetric Me₂Si(Ind)(Flu)ZrCl₂ complex, activated with methyl aluminoxane, over a range of T and monomer concentration ([M]) values. The use of these two variables, in combination with the Coleman–Fox model (or a kinetic model), allows more reliable estimates of fundamental parameters, especially when the microstructure is a weak function of one of these variables at a constant value of T (e.g., [M]). © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 1797–1810, 2005     

Heteroleptic [n]Chromoarenophanes: ansa Complexes Derived from [Cr(η5‐C5H5)(η6‐C6H6)]

The synthesis of ansa complexes has been studied intensively owing to their importance as homogeneous catalysts and as precursors of metal‐containing polymers. However, paramagnetic non‐metallocene derivatives are rare and have been limited to examples with vanadium and titanium. Herein, we report an efficient procedure for the selective dilithiation of paramagnetic sandwich complex [Cr(η⁵‐C₅H₅)(η⁶‐C₆H₆)], which allows the preparation of a series of [n]chromoarenophanes (n=1, 2, 3) that feature silicon, germanium, and tin atoms at the bridging positions. The electronic and structural properties of these complexes were probed by X‐ray diffraction analysis, cyclic voltammetry, and by UV/Vis and EPR spectroscopy. The spectroscopic parameters for the strained and less strained complexes (i.e., with multiple‐atom linkers) indicate that the unpaired electron resides primarily in a d orbital on chromium(I); this result was also supported by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. We did not observe a correlation between the experimental UV/Vis and EPR data and the degree of molecular distortion in these ansa complexes. The treatment of tin‐bridged complex [Cr(η⁵‐C₅H₄)(η⁶‐C₆H₅)SntBu₂] with [Pt(PEt₃)₃] results in the non‐regioselective insertion of the low‐valent Pt⁰ fragment into the C_ipso? Sn bonds in both the five‐ and six‐membered rings, thereby furnishing a bimetallic complex. This observed reactivity suggests that ansa complexes of this type are promising starting materials for the synthesis of bimetallic complexes in general and also underline their potential to undergo ring‐opening processes to yield new metal‐containing polymers.     

Synthesis and characterization of iPP‐sPP stereoblock produced by a binary metallocene system

Stereoblock polypropylenes comprising of iPP and sPP segments are synthesized by polymerization of the following binary system of metallocenes: the C_s‐symmetric [2,7‐t‐Bu₂(Flu)₂Ph₂C(Cp)ZrCl₂] and the C₂‐symmetric rac‐Me₂Si(2‐Me‐4‐Ph‐Ind)₂ZrCl₂. Blends of samples made either by each catalyst individually (solution blend) with materials obtained with the mixed catalyst system (reactor blend) are compared. The simultaneous presence of MAO and DEZ, enhancing fast and reversible transfer of the growing chains between the two active centers, leads to the formation of a stereoblock microstructure. In this case, low molecular weight polymers are obtained. The junction between the blocks is qualitatively observed in ¹³C NMR. When made in toluene, the stereoblock material consists of a majority of syndiotactic sequences, whereas the ratio is more equilibrated when the polymerization was conducted in the more polar chlorobenzene. This is confirmed by the results obtained with ¹³C NMR, CRYSTAF, HT HPLC, DSC, SSA, WAXD, and optical microscopy. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 1422–1434     

Copolymerization of Propene and 5‐Vinyl‐2‐Norbornene: A Simple Route to Polar Poly(propylene)s

Summary: The metallocenes rac‐C₂H₄(Ind)₂ZrCl₂ ( 1 ), rac‐Me₂Si(Ind)₂ZrCl₂ ( 2 ), and rac‐Me₂Si(2‐Me‐benz[e]Ind)₂ZrCl₂ ( 3 ) efficiently copolymerize propene and 5‐vinyl‐2‐norbornene (VNB). 1 and 2 give a high VNB content and high productivities, whereas 3 gives moderate incorporation. Surprisingly, precatalysts 1 and 2 , which have very closely related structures, showed very different reactivities toward VNB, with 1 having a greater affinity for VNB than for propene. The copolymers are quantitatively converted into polyolefins with polar functionalities.

     

Homo-and copolymerization of vinylcyclohexane with α-olefins in the presence of heterogeneous and homogeneous catalytic systems

The polymerization and copolymerization of vinylcyclohexane with α-olefins in the presence of several heterogeneous and homogeneous catalytic systems were studied. It was shown that, with respect to activity in the polymerization of vinylcyclohexane, the tested catalysts can be arranged in the following order: α-TiCl₃ < titanium-magnesium catalyst < metallocene catalyst. Poly(vinylcyclohexane) prepared with heterogeneous catalytic systems is a solid semicrystalline polymer. The properties of polymers synthesized with homogeneous systems differ substantially depending on the type of the metallocene used. In the presence of metallocenes with a C ₂ symmetry, crystalline powderlike products arise, while in the case of metallocenes with C ₁ and C _s symmetries, polymerization yields amorphous viscous products. Molecular-mass distributions of poly(vinylcyclohexane) samples prepared using both heterogeneous titanium-magnesium catalysts and homogeneous metallocene complexes show a bimodal pattern, indicating the heterogeneity of active centers of these catalysts. Upon introduction of a comonomer (ethylene, propylene, and 1-hexene) into the reaction mixture, the activity of all studied catalytic systems increases. When Me₂C(3-Me-Cp)(Flu)ZrCl₂ and rac-Me₂SiInd₂ZrCl₂ are used as catalysts, the degree of crystallinity of the copolymers grows owing to the presence of ethylene or propylene units in poly(vinylcyclohexane) chains.