Detitanation of MgCl2‐supported Ziegler‐Natta catalysts for the study of active sites organization

Thermal treatments under vacuum of conventional supported Ziegler‐Natta precatalysts (MgCl₂/TiCl₄/Dibutylphthalate) were conducted to gradually remove titanium to modify the active sites distribution. Only limited detitanations of precatalysts were achieved paying attention not to chemically alter the internal donor (T < 150 °C). Used in combination with the required cocatalyst and external donor in the propylene slurry polymerization, the modified precatalysts exhibited a drop of activity versus decreasing titanium content but the distributed polymer properties are almost not affected (a slight narrowing of molecular weight distribution was observed). After a titanium chloride secondary impregnation (possibly done in presence of an additional Lewis base), activity resumed but polymer properties are once again unchanged. These findings highlight the difficulty to separate the different families of active sites and lead us to propose a cluster organization of titanium active sites. Active sites are composed of titanium clusters having a size distribution at the precatalyst surface, possessing a critical operating size and operating collectively in polymerization. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 5461–5470, 2008     

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.     

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.     

Propene polymerization with the MgCl2-supported dichlorobis(β-diketonato)titanium catalysts activated by ordinary alkylaluminums

Several kinds of dichlorobis(β-diketonato)titanium complexes, i.e., Ti(ace-tylacetonato)₂Cl₂, Ti(1-benzoylacetonato)₂Cl₂, Ti(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedionato)₂Cl₂ and Ti(4,4,4-trifluoro-1-phenyl-1,3-butanedionato)₂Cl₂, were synthesized and the corresponding MgCl₂-supported catalysts were prepared by impregnation method. The test of them for propene polymerization revealed that those MgCl₂-supported catalysts could be activated not only by methylaluminoxane (MAO) but also by ordinary alkylaluminums as well. The effect of typical Lewis bases on the catalyst performance was investigated in some detail, which indicated that organic silanes are most effective for the improvement of isospecificity of those catalysts. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 129–135, 1998     

Kinetics of polymerization of 1-octene with Mgcl2-supported Ticl4 catalysts

A number of TiCl₄ catalysts supported on MgCl₂ which was activated by the recrystallization method using different alcohols were prepared with ethyl benzoate or dibutyl phthalate as the internal electron donor. All the catalysts were characterized by BET, x-ray diffraction, and hydrolysis–GC analysis. Kinetics of polymerization of 1-octene was studied with three of the above catalysts (having different internal electron donors) activated by AlEt₃. The rate of polymerization increased linearly with increasing temperature, and catalyst and monomer concentrations. From the Arrhenius plot, the overall activation energies of polymerization were determined and the dependence of rate on the AlEt₃ concentration could be explained by the Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism. ¹³C-NMR was used to study the effect of internal electron donors on the % isotacticity of poly(1-octene). The catalytic activities of all the catalysts were compared in 1-octene polymerization. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Strong activation of MgCl2‐supported Ziegler‐Natta catalysts by treatments with BCl3: Evidence and application of the “cluster” model of active sites

Heterogeneous Ziegler‐Natta precatalysts (with phthalate as internal donor) were modified by treatments with BCl₃ (2 h in heptane; T = 20–90 °C; B/Ti = 0.1–5) before their use in the polymerization of propylene to modify the active sites distribution. If performed on previously “detitanated” precatalysts, the treatment leads to a strong increase of productivity (up to one order of magnitude) without drastic modifications of polypropylenes properties (tacticity, molecular weight distribution). In addition, these findings are in good agreement with the hypothesis of a “cluster” organization of active sites allowing to rationalize activation by BCl₃ by formation of heteronuclear B‐Ti clusters. The activation method was also applied to unmodified precatalysts and gave a significant gain of productivity. The simple and versatile activation process can also be performed under mild conditions (low T and low [BCl₃]). © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 5784–5791, 2009     

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.     

Characterization of the changes in the initial morphology for MgCl2-supported Ziegler-Natta polymerization catalysts

Recently considerable detail has become available on the initial morphology and the morphological changes that occur for silica based Cr catalysts for ethylene polymerization. These catalysts are produced as a dry powder and may be employed either in gas phase or in slurry processes. MgCl₂-supported Ziegler-Natta polymerization catalysts are often prepared and employed as slurries. They usually are never dried and thus few studies have employed the spectra of physical techniques common to the characterization of pore structure. In the current study, we have carefully removed the solvent for both ball-milled and precipitated MgCl₂-supported catalysts. These catalysts are characterized by physical sorption, mercury porosimetry, and electron microscopy both as prepared and during the initial stages of polymerization (to ～ 100 g of polymer/g of catalyst). We find that the initial catalyst may be represented by a complex agglomerate of small crystallites as contrasted with the branched pore network found in Cr/silica catalysts. As a result, it is concluded that the initial fragmentation of the MgCl₂ based systems is more uniform as contrasted with the progressive fragmentation of the silica-based system. This fragmentation mechanism facilitates the retention of greater polymer/catalyst surface during the initial stages of the polymerization. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Experimental and Computational Approaches on the Isospecific Role of Monoester-Type Internal Electron Donor for TiCl4/MgCl2 Ziegler-Natta Catalysts

In this work, a combination of experimental and computational approaches on the isospecific role of monoester-type internal electron donors (ED) such as phenylpropionate (PhP), ethylheptanoate (EH), methylbenzoate (MB), ethylbenzoate (EB) for TiCl₄/ED/MgCl₂ Ziegler-Natta catalysts had been performed. The propylene polymerization results revealed that the isospecificity of catalysts increases in the following order: PhP < EH < MB < EB. The subsequent molecular modeling on the electronic properties of the donors and two kinds of cluster model catalysts: TiCl₄/ED/MgCl₂ and TiCl₄/ED/(MgCl₂)₄ based on density functional theory (DFT) method was carried out. Two kinds of ED coordination on MgCl₂ clusters through either O or  O within the monoester-type ED had been disclosed. A perfect correlation between the dipole moment of ED, the coordination bond length of O … Mg, the competitive coordination from  O with Mg ion and the isospecificity of the catalysts had been established.     

Modifications of the active sites distribution in the Ziegler‐Natta polymerization of propylene using Lewis acids

Heterogeneous Ziegler‐Natta precatalysts (with phthalate as internal donor) were modified by treatments with various Lewis acids (MCl_n with M = Ga, Sn, Si, and Sb and n = 3, 4, or 5) before their use in the polymerization of propylene. If performed on previously “detitanated” precatalysts, treatments with SnCl₄ and SiCl₄ lead to a slight activation but especially to an increase of the tacticity whereas GaCl₃ and SbCl₅ treatments deactivate the catalyst. The modification method applied to conventional unmodified precatalysts gave similar trends. A significant increase of tacticity (and/or of T_m) and a narrowing of the molecular weight distribution were observed in the case of SnCl₄ and SiCl₄ treatments. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 2631–2635, 2010     

石墨烯/二氯化镁负载钛系齐格勒-纳塔催化剂制备及其乙烯聚合性能

石墨烯自2004年发现以来,由于其独一无二的优异性迅速成为科学家们的研究热点.由于石墨烯具有极其优异的电学、力学和热学等性能,因此被广泛应用于高性能聚合物基复合材料的制备.众所周知,纳米填料在聚合物中的分散状态以及与基体间的界面作用是构筑高性能聚合物纳米复合材料的关键因素.由于石墨烯极易团聚,难以通过传统的熔融共混法制备均匀分散的石墨烯增强-聚烯烃纳米复合材料.另一方面,聚烯烃通常需要在较高温度下才能溶于部分有毒溶剂(如:三氯苯和二甲苯等),因此溶液共混法也不适用于聚烯烃-石墨烯纳米复合材料的制备.有鉴于此,本文开发了一种共沉积法制备石墨烯/二氯化镁负载钛系齐格勒-纳塔催化剂的路线.通过原位聚合直接制备出石墨烯均匀分散的聚烯烃/石墨烯纳米复合材料.考察了石墨烯的加入量对催化剂形态及其催化乙烯聚合行为的影响.当石墨烯加入量较低时,多个石墨烯片被包裹于较大的催化剂粒子中.随着石墨烯加入量的增加,催化剂趋向于在石墨烯表面聚集.继续增加石墨烯量将导致石墨烯包裹催化剂粒子,降低过渡金属钛的负载效率.通过三乙基铝活化后,所制备的催化剂具有非常高的乙烯催化活性,所生成的聚乙烯/石墨烯纳米复合材料复制了催化剂的片状结构.同时,通过对所制备的聚乙烯/石墨烯纳米复合材料进行电子显微镜和X射线衍射分析可知,石墨烯均匀分散于聚乙烯基体中,并且没有任何团聚现象发生.该复合材料的热重分析表明,仅加入非常少量的石墨烯就可以使其具有比纯聚乙烯更高的热稳定性,当石墨烯加入量为0.66 wt%时,其5 wt%热分解温度较纯聚乙烯升高了54°C.同时,所制备聚乙烯/石墨烯纳米复合材料具有更优异的机械性能.因此,本研究提供了一个简单高效的高性能聚烯烃/石墨烯纳米复合材料的制备方法.     

The discovery and progress of MgCl2‐supported TiCl4 catalysts

Polyolefins represented by polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) are indispensable materials in our daily lives. TiCl₃ catalysts, established by Ziegler and Natta in the 1950s, led to the births of the polyolefin industries. However, the activities and stereospecificities of the TiCl₃ catalysts were so low that steps for removing catalyst residues and low stereoregular PP were needed in the production of PE and PP. Our discovery of MgCl₂‐supported TiCl₄ catalysts led to more than 100 times higher activities and extremely high stereospecificities, which enabled us to dispense with the steps for the removals, meaning the process innovation. Furthermore, they narrowed the molecular weight and composition distributions of PE and PP, enabling us to control the polymer structures precisely and create such new products as very low density PE or heat‐sealable film at low temperature. The typical example of the product innovations by the combination of the high stereospecificity and the narrowed composition distribution is high‐performance impact copolymer used for an automobile bumper that used to be made of metal. These process and product innovations established these polyolefin industries. The latest MgCl₂‐supported TiCl₄ catalyst is very close to perfect control of isotactic PP structure and is expected to bring about further innovations. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 1–8, 2004     

Exploring pathways to reduce the distribution of active sites in the Ziegler–Natta polymerization of propylene

Chemical treatments of classical supported Ziegler–Natta precatalysts were conducted by using additional bulky ligands to attempt to narrow and homogenize the active sites distribution in propylene polymerization. Additions of monodentate ligands such as bis(trimethylsilyl)amide, cyclopentadienyl derivates or triphenylsilanol were seen to slow down the polymerization without modifying the distribute properties of polypropylenes. In the case of multidentate ligands (porphines or biquinolines), in addition to the poisoning of active sites, an extraction of titanium from the catalyst surface is observed. A decrease of both melting point and isotacticity (II%) of polymers using these compounds suggest that the most isospecific titanium sites are first extracted from the MgCl₂‐surface. The narrowing of the molecular weight distribution confirms that the highly isospecific sites are the most active sites, producing the higher molecular weight polymers. Moreover, this study shows that the distributed properties of polymers are due to the chemical diversity of the active sites with various steric and electronic environments at the catalyst surface and not to mass transfer limitations. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 3941–3948, 2007     

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     

Recent data on the number of active centers and propagation rate constants in olefin polymerization with supported ZN catalysts

Data on the number of active centers (Cp) and propagation rate constants (Kp) have been obtained by means of polymerization quenching with ¹⁴CO of propylene and ethylene polymerization with supported titanium-magnesium catalysts (TMC) with different composition. In the case of propylene polymerization the Cp and Kp values have been measured separately for isospecific, aspecific and low stereospecific centers. Effects of MgCl₂ support, internal and external donors are discussed on the basis of data obtained. Data on the strong effect of diffusion limitation at ethylene polymerization with number of TMC have been obtained and a set of methods have been used to exclude this effect. Data on Cp and Kp values at ethylene polymerization with low stereospecific and highly stereospecific catalysts are presented.     

Defects distribution of metallocene and MgCl2-supported Ziegler-Natta isotactic poly(propylenes) as revealed by fractionation and crystallization behaviors

The inter and intramolecular distribution of defects of poly(propylenes) of the Ziegler-Natta (ZN) and metallocene (M) types, with matched molar masses and overall defect concentrations, are inferred from the crystallization and polymorphic behavior of their narrow molecular mass fractions. The fractions obtained from the M-iPP display a range in molecular masses but the same concentration of defects and provide direct evidence of the uniform intermolecular defect distribution and the “single site” nature of the catalyst. The stereodefects of the ZN-iPP fractions are more concentrated in the low molecular mass fractions, corroborating a broad interchain distribution of the nonisotactic content. In addition, the invariance of the linear growth rates among the ZN fractions and very low contents of the gamma polymorph, developed even by the most defected ZN fraction, are consistent with a stereo blocky intramolecular distribution of defects in the ZN-iPP molecules. In contrast to the linear growth rates, which are sensitive to the defect microstructure, the overall crystallization rates correlate with nucleation density and not necessarily with the iPP chain microstructure.     

Ethene–propene copolymerization with the MgCl2-supported dichlorobis(4,4,4-trifluoro-1-phenyl- 1,3-butanedionato)titanium catalyst activated by an ordinary trialkylaluminum

The Ti(BFA)₂Cl₂/MgCl₂–Al(C₂H₅)₃ catalyst (BFA = 4,4,4-trifluoro-1-phenyl-1,3-butanedione) modified by DIPDMS (diisopropyldimethoxysilane), which had been proved to yield an extremely high isotactic polypropene in high selectivity, was tested for the copolymerization of ethene with propene. The analysis of resulting copolymers by CFC (cross fractionation chromatography) indicated the formation of a small quantity of ethene-rich copolymers as a byproduct, suggesting that the catalyst possesses not only Ti(III) species but a small portion of Ti(II) species. Whereas, the same catalyst without being modified by an external donor selectively yielded propene-rich random copolymers resulting from Ti(III) species in high yields. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 2735–2740, 1998     

Similarities and Differences of the Active Sites in Basic and Advanced MgCl2‐Supported Ziegler‐Natta Propylene Polymerization Catalysts

Though preparation procedures of heterogeneous Ziegler‐Natta catalysts for propylene polymerization are sophisticated, it is uncertain whether the nature of the active sites is similar or different for different preparation procedures. In this study, the effects of preparation procedures on the nature of the active sites were investigated by stopped‐flow polymerization in combination with microstructure analysis of polymers. Both basic and advanced types of catalysts showed the same two kinds of isospecific active site, which indicated little influence of the preparation method on the active site structure. On the contrary, the ratios of the two kinds of isospecific sites were not the same, resulting in variation of average polymer properties.