Probing the roles of diethylaluminum chloride in propylene polymerization with MgCl2-supported ziegler-natta catalysts

In this article, the effect of diethylaluminum chloride (DEAC) in propylene polymerization with MgCl₂-supported Ziegler-Natta catalyst was studied. Addition of DEAC in the catalyst system caused evident change in catalytic activity and polymer chain structure. The activity decrease in raising DEAC/Ti molar ratio from 0 to 2 is a result of depressed production of isotactic polypropylene chains. The number of active centers in fractions of each polymer sample was determined by quenching the polymerization with 2-thiophenecarbonyl chloride and fractionating the polymer into isotactic, mediumisotactic and atactic fractions. The number of active centers in isotactic fraction ([C_i*]/[Ti]) was lowered by increasing DEAC/Ti molar ratio to 2, but further increasing the DEAC/Ti molar ratio to 20 caused marked increase of [C_i*]/[Ti]. The number of active centers that produce atactic and medium-isotactic PP chains was less influenced by DEAC in the range of DEAC/Ti = 0–10, but increased when the DEAC/Ti molar ratio was further raised to 20. The propagation rate constant of C_i* (k _pi) was evidently increased when DEAC/Ti molar ratio was raised from 0 to 5, but further increase in DEAC/Ti ratio caused gradual decrease in k _pi. The complicated effect of DEAC on the polymerization kinetics, catalysis behaviors and polymer structure can be reasonably explained by adsorption of DEAC on the central metal of the active centers or on Mg atoms adjacent to the central metal.     

Effect of external donor in polymerization of propylene by a MgCl2 supported titanium catalyst

Polypropylene (PP) prepared with a MgCl₂/TiCl₄-Et₃Al/Ph₂Si(OMe)₂ catalyst system was fractionated by temperature rising elution fractionation method in order to investigate the effect of Ph₂Si(OMe)₂ as an external donor (ED). This PP had a broad and continuous distribution of tacticity. In comparison to the system without donor, however, ED brought a decrease of lower isotactic portions and an increase of higher isotactic ones simultaneously to the resulting polymer. The latter portions were eluted at higher temperature than the corresponding component obtained without donor, showing that the higher isotactic PP was newly produced by ED.     

球形MgCl2负载的MAO/rac-Et[Ind]2ZrCl2催化剂催化丙烯 聚合

采用只在球形MgCl2上负载MAO,聚合前再同rac--Et[Ind]2ZrCl2预混的负载方式进行丙烯聚合。在少量AlEt3的活化下,很低的Al(MAO)/Zr摩尔比时即可获得比均相催化剂高一个数量级的活性,考察了温度、压力、Al(MAO)/Zr摩尔比和催化剂浓度对聚合的影响,同时用13^CNMR测定了均相和载体催化体系所制备的聚丙烯的微结构,发现负载型茂金属催化剂制得的聚丙烯立构规整性高于均相体系,其五元组立构序列[mmmm]可从均相的52.6%提高到负载催化剂的79.5%。扫描电镜观察表明,聚合物颗粒可较好地复制球形催化剂的颗粒形态。     

State of titanium in supported titanium-magnesium catalysts for propylene polymerization

The oxidation state of titanium and the coordination state of Ti³⁺ ions in TiCl₄/D₁/MgCl₂ (D₁ is a phthalate) supported titanium-magnesium catalysts (TMCs) after the interaction with an AlEt₃/D₂ cocatalyst (D₂ is propyltrimethoxysilane or dicyclopentyldimethoxysilane) were studied by chemical analysis and EPR spectroscopy. Different oxidation state distributions of titanium ions were observed in the activated catalyst and mother liquor: Ti³⁺ and Ti²⁺ ions were predominant in the activated catalyst and mother liquor, respectively. The effects of interaction conditions (reaction temperature and time and Al/Ti and D₂/Ti molar ratios) of TMCs with the cocatalyst on the state of titanium in activated samples were studied. The interaction of TMCs with the cocatalyst decreased the titanium content and caused the appearance of aluminum in the activated sample, which was most clearly pronounced at a temperature of 25°C and occurred within the first 10 min of treatment. An increase in the temperature to 70°C and an increase in the interaction time to 60 min only slightly affected the concentrations of titanium and aluminum. The presence of D₂ as a cocatalyst constituent facilitated the removal of titanium compounds and restricted the adsorption of aluminum compounds on the catalyst surface. The main fraction of titanium consisted of Ti³⁺ ions (62–89%), and the rest was Ti⁴⁺ ions (22–35%) under mild interaction conditions (25°C; Si/Ti = 25) or Ti⁴⁺ (0–21%) and Ti²⁺ (9–21%) ions under more severe conditions (50 or 70°C; Si/Ti from 0 to 5). According to EPR-spectroscopic data, at D₂/Ti from 1 to 5, Ti³⁺ ions mainly occurred as associates, whereas they occurred as isolated ions at D₂/Ti = 25. The initial and activated catalysts were similar in activity in the reaction of propylene polymerization, and titanium compounds, which were removed from the catalyst upon interaction with AlEt₃/D₂, were inactive in this process.     

Investigation on the particle growth mechanism in propylene polymerization with MgCl2-supported ziegler–natta catalysts

To elucidate the particle growth mechanism in propylene polymerization with high-yield MgCl₂-supported Ziegler-Natta catalysts, observations have been carried out by electron microscopy on a series of samples having different degrees of polymer growth (from 0.1 to 1000 g/g of catalyst). Topics such as surface and bulk morphology, catalyst fragmentation, as well as distribution of the catalyst residues in the polymer have been investigated. The experimental data suggest that if the site distribution in the catalyst is uniform and the polymerization conditions are mild, the polymer growth starts uniformly throughout the catalyst particle, which then undergoes an even and progressive fragmentation into very fine units homeogeneously dispersed in the polymer matrix. The above results thus provide further experimental support to the particle growth mechanism outlined in the multigrain or polymeric flow models. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

New penta-ether as the internal donor in the MgCl2-supported Ziegler-Natta catalysts for propylene polymerization

The penta-ether compound was synthesized by the reaction of di(trimethylolpropane) with sodium hydride as the strong base and methyl iodide as the alkyl halide. This compound was characterized by NMR, FTIR, and GC techniques. The MgCl₂-supported titanium catalysts were incorporated with varying amounts of penta-ether compound as the internal donor and also the catalysts without the internal donor were synthesized. The synthesized catalysts and the conventional Ziegler- Natta catalyst were characterized. The titanium contents were determined by spectrophotometry, magnesium by complexometric titration and chloride by argentometric titration. The effects of the new internal donor on propylene polymerization with the prepared MgCl₂-supported Ziegler-Natta catalysts were investigated and then these results were compared to the results obtained using the conventional diisobutyl phthalate-besed-Ziegler-Natta catalyst. The highest crystallinity degree, melting temperature, and isotacticity of polypropylene were obtained using the catalyst with a penta-ether/Mg molar ratio equal to 0.21.     

Development of novel MgCl2 supported catalyst with trivalent titanocene complex of CP2TiCl2AlCl2 for propylene polymerization

Three kinds of MgCl₂‐supported trivalent titanocene catalyst (Cat. 1: Cp₂TiCl₂AlCl₂/MgCl₂, Cat. 2: CpCp*TiCl/MgCl₂, Cat. 3: Cp₂TiCl/MgCl₂) were prepared and tested for propylene polymerization. It was found that Cat. 1, combined with ordinary alkylaluminum as cocatalyst, produced PP containing 31.8 wt % of isotactic PP in fairly good yield. On the other hand, Cats. 2 and 3 hardly showed any activity. The effects of diisopropyldimethoxysilane (DIPDMS) on isospecificity of the Cat. 1 also were investigated. The isotactic index (I.I.) of PP was improved drastically by the addition of DIPDMS as external donor and reached the value as high as 98.4%, even in the absence of any internal donors. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 3355–3359, 2000     

Superactive and stereospecific catalysts. IV. Influence of structure of esters on MgCl2 supported olefin polymerization catalysts

CH-type catalysts were prepared by reacting MgCl₂ · ROH, where ROH is 2-ethyl hexanol (EH), (R)-2-octanol (R-20), and (S)-2-octanol (S-20), with TiCl₄ in the presence of di-i-butyl phthalate (BP), di-i-butyl terephthalate (BT), (-)-dimenthyl phthalate (MP), or (-)-dimenthyl terephthalate (MT). The MT catalysts were found to incorporate 8.9 to 13% Ti whereas the BP catalysts contain only 1.9 to 2.6% Ti. Comparison of the CH(EH, BP) and CH(EH, MT) catalysts showed that they have about equal number of isospecific active sites per gram of catalyst and the same rate constants of propagation for their nonspecific sites, however, the isospecific sites in the latter are less active by comparison. Consequently, the CH(EH, BP) catalysts is five times more active than the CH(EH, MT) catalysts and produces polypropylene which is 97% isotactic (reflux n-heptane insoluble) as compared to 84.7% for the latter. The catalysts derived from 2-octanols are much less active than the corresponding catalysts prepared with 2-ethyl hexanol due to lack of reactivity with phthalic anhydride which permits excessive incorporation of TiCl₄ to form nonstereospecific catalytic sites as well as inactive Ti species.     

Highly active MgCl2‐supported catalysts containing novel diether donors for propene polymerization

A new generation of MgCl₂‐supported catalysts for the polymerization of propene without any external donors was prepared. Two diethers, 9,9‐bis(methoxymethyl)fluorene (for Cat‐A) and 2,2‐dipropyl‐1,3‐dimethoxypropane (for Cat‐B) differing in the bulkiness of alkyl substituents in position 2, have been used as internal donors in MgCl₂/TiCl₄/diether‐AlR₃ catalysts. The weight‐average molecular weights produced with both catalysts were over 3.5×10⁵ at low temperature in slurry polymerization (< 40°C). Cat‐A showed higher activity and produced higher isotactic polypropene than Cat‐B. The activity of both catalysts proved to be dependent on the temperature.     

Recent advances in the field of diolefin polymerization with transition metal catalysts

Recent advances in the field of catalysis for 1,3-diene polymerization and in the interpretation of the polymerization mechanism are examined. Catalysts prepared from methylaluminoxanes and soluble transition metal compounds are in general more active than the analogous systems prepared from AlR₃. With some catalysts, however, (e.g. lanthanide systems) a high activity is obtained only when transition metal compounds containing preformed metal-carbon bonds are used. Methylaluminoxanes affect also the stereospecificity of the polymerization. Active and stereospecific systems are obtained from monocyclopentadienyl derivatives of Ti and aluminoxanes. Recent views on the factors that determine stereospecificity are examined. Schemes are presented for the formation of iso- or syndiotactic polymers, with 1,2, cis-1,4 or trans-1,4 structure, from various dienes.     

Exploring Si/Mg composite supported Ziegler-Natta Ti-based catalysts for propylene polymerization

A series of(Si_O2/MgO/ID/MgCl_2)·TiClx Ziegler-Natta catalysts for propylene polymerization has been prepared with a new method. These catalysts were synthesized using soluble Mg-compounds as the Mg-source and the preparation progress was relatively simple. The catalyst could copy the spherical shape of the carrier very well. The propylene polymerization results showed that the catalyst revealed the best activity with 9,9-di(methoxymethyl)fluorene(BMMF) as internal donor at 50 °C with the optimal molar ratio Al/Ti = 5, which was much lower than what the industrial polypropylene catalyst used(at least molar ratio Al/Ti = 100), resulting in great cost saving. Additionally, the polymerization kinetics of the catalyst exhibited very stable property after achieving a relatively high value. These catalysts possessed rather high activity and good hydrogen response. The isotactic index(Ⅱ.) value of the PP products could be higher than 98% in the presence of both internal and external electron donors. Moreover, temperature rising elution fractionation method was used to understand the influence of donors and H2 on the properties of the PP products.     

Active center determinations on MgCl2‐supported fourth‐ and fifth‐generation Ziegler–Natta catalysts for propylene polymerization

Active center determinations on different Ziegler–Natta polypropylene catalysts, comprising MgCl₂, TiCl₄, and either a diether or a phthalate ester as internal donor, have been carried out by quenching propylene polymerization with tritiated ethanol, followed by radiochemical analysis of the resulting polymers. The purpose of this study was to determine the factors contributing to the high activities of the catalyst system MgCl₂/TiCl₄/diether—AlEt₃. Active center contents (C*) in the range 2–8% (of total Ti present) were measured and a strong correlation between catalyst activity and active center content was found, indicating that the high activity of the diether‐containing catalysts is due to an increased proportion of active centers rather than to a difference in propagation rate coefficients. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 1635–1647, 2006     

Modeling of isospecific Ti sites in MgCl2 supported heterogeneous Ziegler-Natta catalysts

New models for the steric environment of Ti isospecific polymerization sites for poly(propylene) on MgCl₂ microcrystals are proposed. They directly involve a donor molecule in order to obtain isospecific activable Ti atoms otherwise belonging to isolated adsorbed TiCl₄ molecules or Ti₂Cl₈ dimers which are lacking of the required chirality for stereocontrol. The donor molecules able to attain at best this effect keep to some peculiar conformational rules settled by the authors in a previous theoretical-correlative study on highly active Lewis bases. The new 1,3-dimethoxypropane series suggested by the authors and recently patented by Montell has been examined in detail. Essentially three different types of closeness between Ti atoms and donor molecules can take place, in which different moieties of the diether compound help to build the ‘right’ steric environment in the site's neighbouring. In the three proposed models S1, S2, S3 the stereocontrol is attained through, respectively, one of the methoxy moieties, one of the methyls, and one of the central carbon atom substituents. New hypotheses on the role of Lewis bases in the preparation of isospecific heterogeneous Ziegler-Natta catalysts are discussed.     

Comparative kinetic and active centre studies on magnesium chloride supported catalysts in propylene polymerization

Three different types of high activity magnesium chloride catalysts were prepared and used for propylene polymerization both in the absence and in the presence of external donors. The rates of polymerization were studied as functions of polymerization time, and the effects of methyl paratoluate and diphenyldimethoxysilane as external donors were investigated. Active centre concentrations (C*) were determined using tritiated methanol quenching and ¹⁴CO radio-labelling in order to assess their applicability. A relatively good agreement between values of C* evaluated by the use of these two methods was obtained. The morphologies of the supports, catalysts and polymers produced were studied using scanning electron microscopy. A model involving expanding microreactors is proposed for polymer growth.     

Kinetics of propylene and ethylene polymerization reactions with heterogeneous ziegler-natta catalysts: Recent results

The article discusses recent results of kinetic analysis of propylene and ethylene polymerization reactions with several types of Ti-based catalysts. All these catalysts, after activation with organoaluminum cocatalysts, contain from two to four types of highly isospecific centers (which produce the bulk of the crystalline fraction of polypropylene) as well as several centers of reduced isospecificity. The following subjects are discussed: the distribution of active centers with respect to isospecificity, the effect of hydrogen on polymerization rates of propylene and ethylene, and similarities and differences between active centers in propylene and ethylene polymerization reactions over the same catalysts. Ti-based catalysts contain two families of active centers. The centers of the first family are capable of polymerizing and copolymerizing all α-olefins and ethylene. The centers of the second family efficiently polymerize only ethylene. Differences in the kinetic effects of hydrogen and α-olefins on polymerization reactions of ethylene and propylene can be rationalized using a single assumption that active centers with alkyl groups containing methyl groups in the β-position with respect to the Ti atom, Ti-CH(CH₃)R, are unusually unreactive in olefin insertion reactions. In the case of ethylene polymerization reactions, such an alkyl group is the ethyl group (in the Ti-C₂H₅ moiety) and, in the case of propylene polymerization reactions, it is predominantly the isopropyl group in the Ti-CH(CH₃)₂ moiety. Published in Russian in Vysokomolekulyarnye Soedineniya, Ser. A, 2008, Vol. 50, No. 11, pp. 1911–1934. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Supported titanium-magnesium catalysts for propylene polymerization

The results of studies of the synthesis and properties of supported titanium-magnesium catalysts for propylene polymerization performed at the Boreskov Institute of Catalysis, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, are considered. The composition of the catalysts is TiCl₄/D₁/MgCl₂-AlEt₃/D₂, where D₁ and D₂ are stereoregulating donors. With the use of the procedure proposed for the synthesis of titanium-magnesium catalysts, the morphology of catalyst particles depends on the stage of the preparation of a Mg-containing support. The titanium-magnesium catalysts developed afforded polypropylene (PP) in a high yield; this PP was characterized by high isotacticity and excellent morphology. The controllable fragmentation of the catalyst by the polymer is of crucial importance for the retention of the morphology of titanium-magnesium catalyst particles in PP. The fragmentation of catalyst particles to microparticles occurred in the formation of more than 100 g of PP per gram of the catalyst. The surface complexes were studied by DRIFT and MAS NMR spectroscopy and chemical analysis. It was shown that the role of internal donors is to regulate the distribution of TiCl₄ on different MgCl₂ faces and, thereby, to influence the properties of PP. It was found that chlorine-containing complexes of aluminum compounds were formed on the catalyst surface by the interaction of the catalyst with AlEt₃; these complexes can block the major portion of titanium chloride. Data on the number of active sites and the rate constants of polymer chain propagation (k _p) at various sites indicate that donor D₁ increases the stereospecificity of the catalyst because of an increase in the fraction of highly stereospecific active sites, at which k _p is much higher than that at low-stereospecificity active sites. Donor D₂ enhances the role of D₁. Similar values of k _p at sites with the same stereospecificity in titanium-magnesium catalysts and TiCl₃ suggest that the role of the support mainly consists in an increase in the dispersity of titanium chloride.     

Binary metallocene supported catalyst for propylene polymerization

The binary silica supported catalyst system comprising the Cp₂ZrCl₂ and SiMe₂(Ind)₂ZrCl₂ metallocene compounds was prepared with different immobilization methods and evaluated at different propylene polymerization conditions. The performance results of the homogeneous isolated catalysts and also the homogeneous catalyst mixture were also included for comparison. High activities were obtained with the supported systems and the molecular weight of the produced polypropylene was invariably higher than that obtained using the homogeneous precursor.