Alkenylsilane structure effects on mononuclear and binuclear organotitanium-mediated ethylene polymerization: scope and mechanism of simultaneous polyolefin branch and functional group introduction

Alkenylsilanes of varying chain lengths are investigated as simultaneous chain-transfer agents and comonomers in organotitanium-mediated olefin polymerization processes. Ethylene polymerizations were carried out with activated CGCTiMe2 and EBICGCTi2Me4 (CGC = Me2Si(Me4C5)(NtBu); EBICGC = (mu-CH2CH2-3,3'){(eta5-indenyl)[1-Me2Si(tBuN)]}2) precatalysts in the presence of allylsilane, 3-butenylsilane, 5-hexenylsilane, and 7-octenylsilane. In the presence of these alkenylsilanes, high polymerization activities (up to 107 g of polymer/(mol of Ti.atm ethylene.h)), narrow product copolymer polydispersities, and substantial amounts of long-chain branching are observed. Regardless of Ti nuclearity, alkenylsilane incorporation levels follow the trend C8H15SiH3 < C6H11SiH3 approximately C4H7SiH3 < C3H5SiH3. Alkenylsilane comonomer incorporation levels are consistently higher for CGCTiMe2-mediated copolymerizations (up to 54%) in comparison with EBICGCTi2Me4-mediated copolymerizations (up to 32%). The long-chain branching levels as compared to the total branch content follow the trend C3H5SiH3 < C4H7SiH3 approximately C6H11SiH3 approximately C8H15SiH3, with gel permeation chromatography-multi-angle laser light scattering-derived branching ratios (gM) approaching 1.0 for C8H15SiH3. Time-dependent experiments indicate a linear increase of copolymer Mw with increasing polymerization reaction time. This process for producing long-chain branched polyolefins by coupling of an alpha-olefin with a chain-transfer agent in one comonomer is unprecedented. Under the conditions investigated, alkenylsilanes ranging from C3 to C8 are all efficient chain-transfer agents. Ti nuclearity significantly influences silanolytic chain-transfer processes, with the binuclear system exhibiting a sublinear relationship between Mn and [alkenylsilane](-1) for allylsilane and 3-butenylsilane, and a superlinear relationship between Mn and [alkenylsilane](-1) for 5-hexenylsilane and 7-octenylsilane. For the mononuclear Ti system, alkenylsilanes up to C6 exhibit a linear relationship between Mn and [alkenylsilane](-1), consistent with a simple silanolytic chain termination mechanism.     

Observation of different catalytic activity of various 1-olefins during ethylene/1-olefin copolymerization with homogeneous metallocene catalysts

This research aimed to investigate the copolymerization of ethylene and various 1-olefins. The comonomer lengths were varied from 1-hexene (1-C?) up to 1-octadecene (1-C??) in order to study the effect of comonomer chain length on the activity and properties of the polymer in the metallocene/MAO catalyst system. The results indicated that two distinct cases can be described for the effect of 1-olefin chain length on the activity. Considering the short chain length comonomers, such as 1-hexene, 1-octene and 1-decene, it is obvious that the polymerization activity decreased when the length of comonomer was higher, which is probably due to increased steric hindrance at the catalytic center hindering the insertion of ethylene monomer to the active sites, hence, the polymerization rate decreased. On the contrary, for the longer chain 1-olefins, namely 1-dodecene, 1-tetradecene and 1-octadecene, an increase in the comonomer chain length resulted in better activity due to the opening of the gap aperture between C(p)(centroid)-M-C(p)-(centroid), which forced the coordination site to open more. This effect facilitated the polymerization of the ethylene monomer at the catalytic sites, and thus, the activity increased. The copolymers obtained were further characterized using thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction spectroscopy and 13C-NMR techniques. It could be seen that the melting temperature and comonomer distribution were not affected by the 1-olefin chain length. The polymer crystallinity decreased slightly with increasing comonomer chain length. Moreover, all the synthesized polymers were typical LLDPE having random comonomer distribution.     

两亲性树状聚合物*

树状聚合物及其功能化是近年来高分子科学界的研究热点之一。本文综述了不同类型的树状聚合物,分别有聚酯、聚丙三醇、聚乙烯亚胺等超支化聚合物,聚酰胺-胺、聚丙烯亚胺等树枝状聚合物。通过对树状聚合物末端大量官能团的亲水（亲油）改性可以制备两亲性树状聚合物,改性方法主要有酰胺化反应、酯化反应、麦克尔加成反应等。与通过缩聚反应所得到的上述树状聚合物不同,近年来配位聚合领域出现的通过“链行走”机理形成的树状聚乙烯,引起了高度关注,这方面着重介绍了乙烯与极性单体直接共聚合或者采用链行走与原子转移自由基聚合联用制备两亲性树状乙烯聚合物。最后对两亲性树状聚合物领域的发展前景进行了展望。     

Organolanthanide-catalyzed synthesis of phosphine-terminated polyethylenes

Organolanthanide-mediated hydrophosphination and ethylene polymerization are coupled in a catalytic cycle to produce diphenylphosphine-terminated polyethylenes. The resulting polymers were characterized by 1H, 13C, and 31P NMR, GPC, and DSC and compared spectroscopically to the model compound, 1-eicosyldiphenylphosphine oxide. High activities (107 g polymer/(mol Ln.atm ethylene.h)) and narrow polydispersities were observed in the polymerization/chain transfer process. Polyethylene molecular weights were found to be inversely proportional to diphenylphosphine concentration, supporting a chain transfer mechanism. The present discovery represents the first case in which an electron-rich phosphine functions efficiently as a chain transfer agent in a single-site fn/d0-mediated olefin polymerization process.     

Shape and diffusion of the monomer‐controlled copolymerization of ethylene and α‐olefins over Cp2ZrCl2 confined in the nanospace of the supercage of NaY

Cp₂ZrCl₂ confined inside the supercage of NaY zeolites [NaY/methylaluminoxane (MAO)/Cp₂ZrCl₂] exhibited the shape and diffusion of a monomer‐controlled copolymerization mechanism that strongly depended on the molecular structure of the monomer and its size. For the ethylene–propylene copolymerization, NaY/MAO/Cp₂ZrCl₂ showed the effect of the comonomer on the increase in the polymerization rate in the presence of propylene, whereas the ethylene/1‐hexene copolymerization showed little comonomer effect, and the ethylene/1‐octene copolymerization instead showed a comonomer depression effect on the polymerization rate. Isobutylene, having a larger kinetic diameter, had little influence on the copolymerization behaviors with NaY/MAO/Cp₂ZrCl₂ for the ethylene–isobutylene copolymerization, which showed evidence of the shape and diffusion of a monomer‐controlled mechanism. The content of the comonomer in the copolymer chain prepared with NaY/MAO/Cp₂ZrCl₂ decreased by about one‐half in comparison with that of Cp₂ZrCl₂. A differential scanning calorimetry study on the melting endotherms after the successive annealing of the copolymers showed that the copolymers of NaY/MAO/Cp₂ZrCl₂ had narrow comonomer distributions, whereas those of homogeneous Cp₂ZrCl₂ were broad. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 2171–2179, 2003     

Nickel catalysts for the addition polymerization of norbornene and its derivatives and for their copolymerization with ethylene

The addition polymerization of norbornene and its derivatives has been carried out in the presence of a nickel complex or carboxylate and an electron acceptor to obtain amorphous polymers with bicyclic units. Norbornene copolymers with conjugated dienes or ethylene cannot be obtained with these catalysts because of rapid chain transfer reactions. Norbornene can be copolymerized with ethylene under mild conditions in the presence of nickel phosphorylide chelates without using any cocatalyst. In most cases, the backbone of the resulting copolymer consists of alternating comonomer units. The new catalysts allow ethylene to be copolymerized with norbornene derivatives containing ester substituents.     

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.     

Short-chain branching in γ-radiation-induced polymerization of ethylene

In an attempt to elucidate the mechanism of chain-branch formation in the polymerization of ethylene, the effect of reaction conditions on short-chain branching in γ-radiationinduced polymerization of ethylene was investigated by using infrared spectroscopy. The concentration of methyl groups, i.e., the frequency of short-chain branching, increases with temperature and pressure and is independent of ethylene conversion to polymer and radiation intensity. The number of methyl groups per polymer molecule increases almost proportionally with the degree of polymerization. These facts indicate that short-chain branching occurs mainly by the mechanism of intramolecular hydrogen transfer. The effect of pressure on the rate of chain branching can be postulated by considering the transition state to be six-membered rings in hydrogen transfer reactions. The activation energy of chain branching is found to exceed that of propagation by 6 kcal./mole.     

Some newer concepts on ethylene/α-olefin copolymerization on heterogeneous Ziegler-Natta catalysts

Unsteady diffusion kinetics, recently advanced by this laboratory, is applied to the examination of some polymerization and molecular chain structure problems. Hitherto deemed “anomalous” phenomena, such as the faster rate of copolymerization of ethylene/α-olefin than the homopolymerization of ethylene and the enrichment in the incorporation of a higher α-olefin in its copolymerization with ethylene by a lower α-olefin, are reasonably explained by unsteady diffusion of monomers. Molecular chain structure of copolymers, such as compositional heterogeneity and its dependence on comonomer incorporation originates from the difference in diffusion coefficients of the monomers. A copolymer composition equation taking into consideration the unsteady diffusion was developed. In cases where simulated curves were compared with experimental curves, good agreements were found.     

Supported bis(indenyl)– and bis(fluorenyl)–chromium catalysts for ethylene polymerization

Silica-supported bis(indenyl)– and bis(fluorenyl)–chromium catalysts show good activity in ethylene polymerization. For maximum productivity with the indenyl chromium catalyst, the silica must be dried, with higher dehydration temperatures giving a significant increase in polymerization activity. Less deactivation on thermal aging of the supported bis(indenyl)–chromium catalyst allows ethylene polymerization to proceed for many hours, which provides polyethylenes of low residual chromium content. In contrast to the behavior of supported chromocene catalysts, the indenyl–and fluorenyl–chromium catalysts require a higher hydrogen/ethylene ratio to achieve a specific polymer melt index. Nevertheless, highly saturated polyethylenes are produced with these new catalysts. This result indicates that chain transfer to hydrogen remains the major chain transfer reaction. Addition of cyclopentadiene to a supported indenyl–chromium catalyst provided a catalyst with a much higher transfer response to hydrogen. This result suggests that ligand exchange occurred, producing a supported chromocene catalyst. These overall results are consistent with an active-site model which comprises a supported divalent chromium center attached to an indenyl or fluorenyl ligand during the polymerization process. Polymerization is believed to occur by a coordinated anionic mechanism of the type previously discussed for a supported chromocene catalyst.     

在载体催化体系下二乙基锌对乙烯聚合催化效率的影响及调节分子量的动力学研究

本文对比研究了用(Ⅰ):TiCl_4/MgCl_2/Al(C_2H_5)_3和(Ⅱ):TiCl_4/MgCl_2/Al(C_2H_5)_3/Zn(C_2H_5)_2两种载体催化体系在常压下进行乙烯配位聚合的动力学行为,测定了聚合速率V_p、T_i活性中心比浓度[C~*]、聚合活化能△E、聚合速率常数K_p及链增长寿期L值。并分别测定以Al(C_2H_5)_3与Zn(C_2H_5)_2为链转移剂的链转移速度常数乓K_(tr,Al)与K_(tr,Zn)以及链转移活化能△E_(tr,Al)与△E_(tr,Zn)。表明Zn(C_2H_5)_2能有效地进一步提高催化效率和降低聚乙烯的分子量并进行讨论。     

Et(Ind)_2ZrCl_2/MAO催化乙烯和ω-对甲苯基-α-烯烃共聚合的研究

使用Et(Ind)2ZrCl2/MAO催化剂催化乙烯和3种ω-对甲苯基-α-烯烃(对甲苯基-1-丙烯,4-对甲苯基-1-丁烯,6-对甲苯基-1-己烯)共聚,主要研究了共单体加入量对催化剂活性和所得共聚物性能的影响.4-对甲苯基-1-丁烯表现出最好的共聚性能.使用1H-NMR、13C-NMR、GPC和DSC对共聚物进行了表征.     

End‐functionalized copolymers prepared by the addition–fragmentation chain‐transfer method: Vinyl acetate/methacrylonitrile system

Copolymers of vinyl acetate and methacrylonitrile were prepared by free‐radical polymerization in the presence of the chain‐transfer agent (CTA) ethyl‐α‐ (t‐butanethiomethyl)acrylate. Molecular weight measurements showed that the chain‐transfer constants increased with the vinyl acetate content of the comonomer mixture, ranging from 0.42 for methacrylonitrile to 6.3 for the copolymerization of a vinyl acetate‐rich monomer mix (89/11). The bulk copolymer composition was not appreciably affected by the amount of CTA used in the copolymerization. The efficiency of the addition–fragmentation mechanism in producing specifically end‐functionalized copolymers was investigated with ¹H NMR spectroscopy. Spectral peaks consistent with all the expected end groups were observed for all comonomer feeds. Peaks consistent with other end groups were also observed, and these were particularly prominent for copolymers made with lower CTA concentrations. At the highest concentrations used, quantitative measurements of end‐group concentrations indicated that 70–80% of the end groups were those expected on the basis of the addition–fragmentation chain‐transfer mechanism. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 39: 2911–2919, 2001     

单茂钛/MAO体系催化乙烯/丙烯共聚合研究Ⅰ.乙烯/丙烯共聚物的合成及聚合反应规律研究

采用合成的催化剂五甲基环戊二烯基三烯丙氧基钛 [Cp Ti(OAllyl) 3]与改性甲基铝氧烷 (mMAO)组成新型催化体系进行乙烯 /丙烯共聚合 ,考察了助催化剂 (mMAO)中TMA含量、气体配比、聚合温度、助催化剂和主催化剂浓度等因素对共聚合活性及产物分子量的影响 ,研究其变化规律 .结果表明 ,Cp Ti(OAllyl) 3/mMAO催化体系中钛的价态分布为Ti(Ⅳ )时对共聚合更为有利 ,制得了乙烯 /丙烯无规共聚物弹性体     

Modeling and Experimentation of RAFT Solution Copolymerization of Styrene and Butyl Acrylate,Effect of Chain Transfer Reactions on Polymer Molecular Weight Distribution

Chain transfer reactions widely exist in the free radical polymerization and controlled radical polymerization, which can significantly influence polymer molecular weight and molecular weight distribution. In this work, the chain transfer reactions in modeling the reversible addition–fragmentation transfer (RAFT) solution copolymerization are included and the effects of chain transfer rate constant, monomer concentration, and comonomer ratio on the polymerization kinetics and polymer molecular weight development are investigated. The model is verified with the experimental RAFT solution copolymerization of styrene and butyl acrylate, with good agreements achieved. This work has demonstrated that the chain transfer reactions to monomer and solvent can have significant impacts on the number‐average molecular weight (M_n) and dispersity (Ð).     

含稀土的钛系催化剂进行乙烯聚合动力学及ZnCl2调节分子量的研究

以SN-1催化剂进行乙烯常压聚合动力学研究表明,催化剂高效的主要原因是活性中心浓度明显增大、表观活化能△E较低。研究了ZnCl₂对乙烯聚合反应的影响。发现ZnCl₂能有效地降低聚乙烯的分子量,并能显著地提高催化效率,当ZnCl₂浓度过大时,则对聚合反应有抑制作用。     

Substituent effect of bisindenyl zirconene catalyst on ethylene/1-hexene copolymerization and propylene polymerization

Nonbridged bis-substituted indenyl zirconene complexes were used as the catalysts for ethylene/1-hexene copolymerization and propylene polymerization. The complicated “comonomer effect” on the activity of ethylene/1-hexene copolymerization was observed. The effect also worked on the incorporation of comonomer. The number and the position of the substituents were important for the copolymerization behavior and the microstructure of the resultant copolymer as well as for propylene polymerization.     

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.     

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     

Chain transfer in ethylene polymerization

Chain transfer constants in the homogeneous free-radical polymerization of ethylene at 1360 atm. and 130°C. have been determined for over 50 compounds, including nearly 300 hydrocarbons. The effects of substitution, unsaturation, and ring strain in the transfer agent molecule on the reactivity of its C? H bonds in chain-transfer reactions with a polyethylene growing chain are analyzed. Qualitatively, these trends parallel those found for simple radicals attacking simple molecules. However, the principle that the reactivity of a compound is the sum of the reactivities of all reactive bonds, which is well established for simple radicals and transfer agents, is found not to be true in ethylene polymerization. It is postulated that the deviations from this principle are due to steric factors which become very important when the free radical is bulky. The transfer constants measured in ethylene polymerization are also compared with transfer constants in other systems. A strong correlation is found between the transfer constants in ethylene and published data on rates of abstraction of hydrogen atoms by methyl radicals.