Polymerization of propylene with TiCl3–AlEt2Cl–polymeric electron donor catalyst

Polymeric donors having ether or carbonyl groups were added to the TiCI₃–AlEt₂CI catalyst system as the third component, and the effects on the polymerization of propylene were investigated in comparison with the effect of the electron donors with low molecular weight. The polymeric donors were effective in making the catalyst more active, but the donors of low molecular weight depressed the catalyst activity. In the case of poly(propylene glycol dimethyl ether) (PPG-DME), PPG–DME with a number of propylene oxide units (n) of more than 6.7 was effective in enhancing the catalyst activity. These effects were considered to be due to the different reactivities between TiCI₃ and AlEt₂CI-polymeric donor complexes having various chain lengths.     

Ethylaluminum oxide catalysts from Et2AlOLi–Et2AlCl binary system in relation to species of AlEt3–water catalyst

Equimolar reaction of Et₂AlOLi and Et₂AlCl gave Et₂AlOAlEt₂. The catalyst behavior for polymerization of acetaldehyde, propylene oxide, and epichlorohydrin was compared with that of the AlEt₃–H₂O (1:0.5) catalyst system. The thermal disproportionation product of Et₂AlOAlEt₂ derived from Et₂AlOLi–Et₂AlCl had the structure, ? (EtAlO)_n? , and it showed catalyst behavior quite similar to that of the product obtained by the same treatment of AlEt₃–H₂O (1:0.5). These ethylaluminum oxides can be regarded as species predominating in AlEt₃–H₂O (1:0.5) and AlEt₃–H₂O (1:1), respectively. Stereospecific or high molecular weight polymerizations of these species were investigated.     

Magnesium-chloride-supported high-mileage catalysts for olefin polymerization. II. Reactions between aluminum alkyl and promoters

The reactions between AlEt₃ and the modifiers, promoters, and coactivators of a typical magnesium-chloride-supported, high-activity propylene polymerization catalyst were studied. Infrared, MS analysis of the gas evolved, and GC–MS of the hydrolysis products for the reaction between AlEt₃ and p-cresol showed rapid and quantitative reactions with p-cresol either in the support or solution. The reaction products from AlEt₃ and esters were hydrolyzed, acidified, and dehydrated. The resulting carbonyl and olefinic compounds were identified by GC–MS. Proton and carbon nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques were also used to study these reactions. The expected intermediates were found in the PMR and CMR spectra. The mechanisms of reactions were proposed. The results of this study showed that when AlEt₃ and esters are used as coactivators reaction products that can significantly influence the performance of the catalyst are formed.     

Modification of catalysts for propylene polymerization: Alcohols and lewis bases

A series of compounds were examined as modifiers for the high activity supported catalyst TiCl₄/MgCl₂–AlEt₃ for isospecific propylene polymerization. The list included two aromatic acid esters, 21 various Lewis bases, and 12 alcohols. A convenient graphic method is described for comparing the performance of different modifiers by plotting experimental results in coordinates “relative activity-isotactic index” and a kinetic rationale for this evaluation is presented. Aromatic acid esters exhibit much better performance than the bulk of Lewis bases but some sterically demanding aromatic alcohols show behavior show similar to that of the esters.     

Homopolymerization of propylene oxide and copolymerization of propylene oxide and carbon dioxide with metal salts of acetic acid

The homopolymerization of propylene oxide was first conducted at 80°C in the absence of any solvent by using various metal salts of acetic acid and it was found that Mg(OAc)₂, Cr(OAc)₃, Mn(OAc)₂, Co(OAc)₂, Ni(OAc)₂, Zn(OAc)₂, and Sn(OAc)₂ were effective for the polymerization. The copolymerization of propylene oxide and carbon dioxide was next examined by using these effective metal salts of acetic acid as catalysts. Most of these were effective also for the copolymerization. The nature of the polymer obtained was strongly dependent on the catalyst used. Co(OAc)₂ and Zn(OAc)₂ gave an alternate copolymer of propylene oxide and carbon dioxide, Mg(OAc)₂, Cr(OAc)₃, and Ni(OAc)₂ gave a random copolymer, while Sn(OAc)₂ gave a homopolymer of propylene oxide. Then the copolymerization of propylene oxide and carbon dioxide was kinetically investigated in some detail by using Co(OAc)₂ as a catalyst. On the basis of the results obtained, a plausible mechanism was proposed for both the homopolymerization of propylene oxide and copolymerization of propylene oxide and carbon dioxide.     

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     

The influence of reagent concentration on the kinetics of carbon dioxide-propylene oxide copolymerization in the presence of a cobalt complex

The effect of the concentrations of propylene oxide and the catalyst (salen)CoDNP/[PPN]Cl ((salen)CoDNP: [PPN]Cl = 1: 1, mol/mol) on the kinetics of the copolymerization of CO₂ and propylene oxide at 0.5 MPa and 20°C has been studied. The reaction proceeds at a constant rate after an induction period, and the value of this period varies with the reagent concentrations. The steady-state reaction rate increases linearly with the propylene oxide concentration in the range 5.0–14.3 mol/L. At high catalyst concentrations, such as (5.2–7.3) × 10^?3 mol/L, the reaction rate is first order in the catalyst; at concentrations below 5 × 10^?3 mol/L, the reaction rate is second order in the catalyst. Molecular mass increases in proportion to the propylene oxide conversion, that is consistent with a living polymerization process. A regioregular copolymer with 96% head-to-tail (HT) connectivity of propylene oxide has been obtained.     

Polymerization of α-piperidone with M–AlEt3, MAlEt4, or KAlEt3(piperidone) as catalysts and N-acetyl-α-piperidone as initiator

Low-temperature polymerization of α-piperidone was carried out by using MAlEt₄, KAlEt₃(piperidone), and M–AlEt₃ (where M is Li, Na, or K) as catalysts and N-acetyl-α-piperidone as initiator. The behavior in polymerization of these catalysts was superior to alkali metal or aluminum triethyl, and a polymer having an intrinsic viscosity of 0.8 dl./g. was obtained. Polymerization results and infrared analyses of the metal salts of lactams suggest that a complex, the structure of which was analogous to the one formed from M–AlEt₃, is formed in the case of the alkali metal piperidonate–ethyl aluminum dipiperidonate catalyst system and that it is changed to another complex having a different composition and lower catalytic activity by heat treatment. The infrared absorption band of the metal salts of lactams and of KAlEt₃(piperidone) at 1570–1590 cm.^?1, which is attributable to the C?N group in enolate form, may be considered to be related to the catalytic activities of alkali metals and the polymerizabilities of lactams. Such special catalysts as MAlEt₄, alkali metal–AlEt₃, or KAlEt₃(piperidone) are supposed to suppress the consumption, by alkali metal, of N-acyl-α-piperidone group of growing polymer end. A prolonged polymerization required for obtaining a high molecular weight polymer, even when such catalysts are used, is ascribable to a greater difficulty in re-forming lactam anion from α-piperidone, the basicity of which is higher than that of the other lactams.     

Synthesis of polypropylene-co-p-methylstyrene copolymers by metallocene and Ziegler–Natta catalysts

This paper discusses the copolymerization reaction of propylene and p-methylstyrene (p-MS) via four of the best-known isospecific catalysts, including two homogeneous metallocene catalysts, namely, {SiMe₂[2-Me-4-Ph(Ind)]₂}ZrCl₂ and Et(Ind)₂ZrCl₂, and two heterogeneous Ziegler–Natta catalysts, namely, MgCl₂/TiCl₄/electron donor (ED)/AlEt₃ and TiCl₃. AA/Et₂AlCl. By comparing the experimental results, metallocene catalysts show no advantage over Ziegler–Natta catalysts. The combination of steric jamming during the consective insertion of 2,1-inserted p-MS and 1,2-inserted propylene (k₂₁ reaction) and the lack of p-MS homopolymerization (k₂₂ reaction) in the metallocene coordination mechanism drastically reduces catalyst activity and polymer molecular weight. On the other hand, the Ziegler–Natta heterogeneous catalyst proceeding with 1,2-specific insertion manner for both monomers shows no retardation because of the p-MS comonomer. Specifically, the supported MgCl₂/TiCl₄/ED/AlEt₃ catalyst, which contains an internal ED, produces copolymers with high molecular weight, high melting point, and no p-MS homopolymer. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 2795–2802, 1999     

Polymerization of olefin oxides and of olefin sulfides

Two new catalyst systems, sulfur–diethylzinc and 98% hydrogen peroxide–diethylzinc, have been investigated for polymerizing propylene oxide. The sulfur–diethylzinc catalyst system has a broad range of sulfur/zinc atomic ratio for polymerizing propylene oxide heterogeneously to high molecular weight materials in high yields. The highest polymer yield is obtained at the sulfur/zinc atomic ratio of 3–3.5. Like the water–diethylzinc system, the hydrogen peroxide–diethylzinc system has a narrow range of hydrogen peroxide/diethylzinc molar ratio in the vicinity of 0.57 for optimum polymer yield. Crystallinity measurements by x-ray diffraction of a few polymers prepared with these three catalyst systems showed that they are fairly similar in the extent of their crystallinity. A plot of the per cent of polymer insoluble in acetone against inherent viscosity of the original polymer also showed that the polymers prepared with sulfur–diethylzinc and hydrogen peroxide–diethylzinc catalyst systems have similar amounts of crystallinity. Data are given for the polymerizability of ethylene oxide, 1,2-butene oxide, styrene oxide, propylene sulfide, 1,2-butene sulfide, and a vulcanizable copolymer of propylene oxide and allyl glycidyl ether with the sulfur–diethylzinc catalyst system. The polymers from the olefin sulfides had lower inherent viscosities than the polymers from the corresponding olefin oxides. Aging of the sulfur–diethylzinc catalyst (S/Zn atomic ratio = 3.5) improved the yield of poly(propylene oxide). The yield was essentially unchanged when propylene oxide was polymerized in six different solvents. The formation of C₂H₅S_xZnSC₂H₅ and C₂H₅S_xZnS_yC₂H₅ (x and y are integers between 2 and 8) and possibly C₂H₅S_xZnC₂H₅ as the catalytically active species is postulated during the reaction of sulfur and diethylzinc.     

Supported catalysts for stereospecific polymerization of propylene

Tetrabenzyltitanium (B₄Ti), tribenzyltitanium chloride (B₃TiCl), tetra(p-methylbenzyl)titanium (R₄Ti) and tri(p-methylbenzyl)titanium chloride (R₃TiCl) have been used as catalysts for ethylene and propylene polymerization activated by AlEt₂Cl. B₄Ti-AIEt₂Cl in solution polymerizes ethylene readily but its activity decays rapidly. B₄Ti was also supported on Cab-O-Sil, Alon C, and Mg(OH)Cl. The last support was found to give catalyst with longest lifetime with a rate of polymerization, R_p = 7.0 g/hr-mmole Ti-atm ethylene. ¹⁴CO counting techniques gave 1.13 × 10^?3 mole of propagating center per mole of B₄Ti; the rate constant of propagation, k_p = 540 l./mole-sec. None of the tetravalent titanium compounds polymerize propylene in solution. However, when supported on Mg(OH)Cl, Cab-O-Sil, Alon C, Cab-O-Ti, and charcoal, they all polymerize propylene. In this work the supports were characterized by various techniques, including the paramagnetic probe method, to determine the concentration and nature of surface hydroxyls. Those factors controlling the rate and stereospecificity of propylene polymerization were investigated. The system B₃TiCl–Mg(OH)Cl–AlEt₂Cl is the most active with R_p = 2.89 g/hr-mmole Ti-atm propylene. The concentration of propagation center is 0.9 × 10^?3 mole per mole of B₃TiCl; k_p = 32 l./mole-sec. This catalyst gave only about 70% stereoregular polymer. Diethyl ether is found to raise stereospecificity to 100%, but there is a concommittent tenfold decrease of activity. Other interesting catalyst systems are: (π-C₅H₅)TiMe₃–Mg(OH)Cl–AlEt₂Cl (1.56, 89.5); (π-C₅H₅)TiMe₂–Mg(OH)Cl–AlEt₂Cl (0.075, 94.5); and (π-C₅H₅)TiMe₃–Alon C–Al-Et₂Cl (0.08,97.2), where the first number in the parenthesis is R_p in g/mmole Ti-hr-atm and the second entry corresponds to percentage yield of stereoregular polypropylene. Hafnocene and titanocene supported on Mg(OH)Cl produce only oligomers of propylene.     

Organoaluminum catalyst for polymerization reaction. Synthesis of isotactic polyacetaldehyde by AIR3–alkali metal hydroxide catalysts in situ

The catalytic behavior of binary systems derived from AIR₃ and alkali metal hydroxide in a molar ratio of 1 to 0.5 in situ for stereospecific polymerization of acetaldehyde was studied for the purpose of preparation of isotactic polyacetal. The polymer obtained can be readily stretched to a film. The polymerization proceeds slowly (in ～20 hr). The polymer yield and stereospecificity of the polymerization by AlEt₃–LiOH (1:0.5) catalyst were not significantly changed by the nature of solvent or dilution as far as studied. AlEt₃–NaOH, AlEt₃–KOH, AlEt₃–CsOH, AliBu₃–LiOH and AlMe₃–LiOH in molar ratios of 1 to 0.5 behaved similarly. AlMe₃–NaOH, AlMe₃–KOH and AliBu₃–NaOH also gave isotactic polymer of high stereoregularity but in lower yields.     

A new route to atactic polypropylene: The second life of premetallocene homogeneous polymerization catalyst

Amorphous atactic polypropylene (PP) with an average molecular weight of 50,000–100,000 is produced by polymerizing propylene with a ternary Ti(Oiso‐Pr)₄ ‐ AlEt₂Cl/MgBu₂ catalyst at 30–50 °С. Main advantages of this catalyst compared with other catalysts capable of nearly exclusively producing atactic PP (such as some heterogeneous Ziegler‐Natta, metallocene and postmetallocene catalysts) are high activity, low cost and the ease of use: the catalyst is prepared in situ from three commercially available compounds readily soluble in aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 2124–2131     

Some aspects of the bimetallic μ-oxo-alkoxides for polymerizing epoxides to polyether elastomers

The bimetallic catalysts of Osgan and Teyssie, (RO)₂Al-O-Zn-O-Al(OR)₂, are effective, unusual catalysts for polymerizing epoxides. The polymer obtained from propylene oxide when R = n-Bu is preponderantly isotactic and highly crystalline and thus, largely head-to-tail. Crystallizable, sulfur vulcanizable propylene oxide rubber was made by copolymerizing propylene oxide (PO) with allyl glycidyl ether (AGE) with this catalyst. This product after S vulcanization exhibited gum tensile and other properties which were superior to the commercially available, amorphous PO–AGE copolymer of similar composition. However, the Osgan–Teyssie catalyst is very sensitive to reactive, polar impurities. Hindered alkyl aluminums and especially alkoxides such as Et₂AlOtert–Bu can be added to help alleviate this problem. The reported favorable (but slow) copolymerization of epichlorohydrin with propylene oxide in nonpolar media with the Osgan–Teyssie catalyst has been confirmed and an alternate explanation for this unusual result suggested.     

Multicenter nature of titanium‐based Ziegler–Natta catalysts: Comparison of ethylene and propylene polymerization reactions

This article discusses the similarities and differences between active centers in propylene and ethylene polymerization reactions over the same Ti‐based catalysts. These correlations were examined by comparing the polymerization kinetics of both monomers over two different Ti‐based catalyst systems, δ‐TiCl₃‐AlEt₃ and TiCl₄/DBP/MgCl₂‐AlEt₃/PhSi(OEt)₃, by comparing the molecular weight distributions of respective polymers, in consecutive ethylene/propylene and propylene/ethylene homopolymerization reactions, and by examining the IR spectra of “impact‐resistant” polypropylene (a mixture of isotactic polypropylene and an ethylene/propylene copolymer). The results of these experiments indicated that Ti‐based catalysts contain two families of active centers. The centers of the first family, which are relatively unstable kinetically, are capable of polymerizing and copolymerizing all olefins. This family includes from four to six populations of centers that differ in their stereospecificity, average molecular weights of polymer molecules they produce, and in the values of reactivity ratios in olefin copolymerization reactions. The centers of the second family (two populations of centers) efficiently polymerize only ethylene. They do not homopolymerize α‐olefins and, if used in ethylene/α‐olefin copolymerization reactions, incorporate α‐olefin molecules very poorly. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 1745–1758, 2003     

Copolymerization of norbornene and 5‐norbornene‐2‐yl acetate using novel bis(β‐ketonaphthylamino)Ni(II)/B(C6F5)3/AlEt3 catalytic system

Vinyl‐type copolymerization of norbornene (NBE) and 5‐NBE‐2‐yl‐acetate (NBE‐OCOMe) in toluene were investigated using a novel homogeneous catalyst system based on bis(β‐ketonaphthylamino)Ni(II)/B(C₆F₅)₃/AlEt₃. The copolymerization behavior as well as the copolymerization conditions, such as the levels of B(C₆F₅)₃ and AlEt₃, temperature, and monomer feed ratios, which influence on the copolymerization were examined. Without combination of AlEt₃, the catalytic bis(β‐ketonaphthylamino)Ni(II)/B(C₆F₅)₃ exhibited very high catalyst activity for polymerization of NBE. Combination of AlEt₃ in catalyst system resulted in low conversion for polymerization of NBE. For copolymerization of NBE and NBE‐OCOMe, involvement of AlEt₃ in catalyst is necessary. Slight addition of NBE‐OCOMe in copolymerization of NBE and NBE‐OCOMe gives rise to significant increase of catalyst activity for catalytic system bis(β‐ketonaphthylamino)Ni(II)/B(C₆F₅)₃/AlEt₃. Nevertheless, excess increase of the NBE‐OCOMe content in the comonomer feed ratios results in decrease of conversion as well as activity of catalyst. The achieved copolymers were confirmed to be vinyl‐addition copolymers through the analysis of FTIR, ¹H NMR, and ¹³C NMR spectra. ¹³C NMR studies further revealed the composition of the copolymer and the incorporation rate was 7.6–54.1 mol % ester units at a content of 30–90 mol % of the NBE‐OCOMe in the monomer feeds ratios. TGA analysis results showed that the copolymer exhibited good thermal stability (T_d > 410 °C) and failed to observe the glass transitions temperature over 300 °C. The copolymers are confirmed to be noncrystalline by WAXD analysis results and show good solubility in common organic solvents. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 3990–4000, 2009     

Kinetics and mechanism of stereospecific polymerization of methyl methacrylate with VOCl3–AlEt2Cl catalyst system

Methyl methacrylate was polymerized at 40°C with VOCl₃–AlEt₂Cl catalyst system in n-hexane. The rate of polymerization was proportional to catalyst and monomer concentration at Al/V ratio of 2 and overall activation energy of 9.25 kcal/mole support a coordinate anionic mechanism of polymerization. The catalytic activity and stereospecificity of this catalyst system is discussed in comparison with that of VOCl₃–AlEt₃ catalyst system.     

Polymerization of styrene with VOCl3–aluminum alkyls

The polymerization of styrene with VOCl₃ in combination with AlEt₃ and with Al(i-Bu)₃ in n-hexane at 40°C. has been investigated. The rate of polymerization was found to be second order with respect to monomer in both systems. With respect to catalyst the rate of polymerization was first order for VOCl₃–AlEt₃ and second order for VOCl₃-Al(i-Bu)₃ systems. The activation energies for VOCl₃–AlEt₃ and VOCl₃–Al(i-Bu)₃ systems were 7.37 and 11.25 kcal./mole, respectively. The molecular weight of polystyrene in the AlEt₃ system was considerably higher than that in the Al(i-Bu)₃ system. The valence of vanadium obtained by a potentiometric method showed that the catalyst sites in the AlEt₃ system are different in nature from those in the Al(i-Bu)₃ system. The effect of diethylzinc as a chain-transfer agent in the AlEt₃ system was also studied.     

Polydentate phosphine oxides as external electron donors for titanium-magnesium catalysts for propylene polymerization

The possibility of using R _n P(O)(CH₂OR′)_3—n (R = alkyl, R′ = methyl or acyl, n = 0–2) polydentate phosphine oxides as external electron donors for the titanium-magnesium catalysts for isotactic polypropylene synthesis is demonstrated for the first time. The kinetics of propylene polymerization in liquid monomer at 70°C and the isotacticity and molecular-weight characteristics of the resulting polypropylene are studied as functions of the nature of the substituents at the phosphorus atoms in the external donor and the molar ratio of the cocatalyst AlEt₃ to the external electron donor. Among the compounds examined, isoamyldi(methoxymethyl)phosphine oxide (R = iso-Am, R′ = Me, n = 1) is the most efficient. The isotacticity index of the polypropylene (PP) synthesized on the titanium-magnesium catalyst with this external donor is as high as 94–95%, and the activity of the catalyst (Cat) in the absence of hydrogen is 5.0–6.5 (kg PP) (g Cat)^?1 h^?1. With the optimum combination, the activity of this catalyst is ≈5 (kg PP) (g Cat)^?1 h^?1 and the isotacticity index is 94%. These parameters are close to those obtained for propylene polymerization in the absence of hydrogen on the same titanium-magnesium catalyst with phenyltriethoxysilane (external donor used in the industrial synthesis of PP): the activity is 5.6 (kg PP) (g Cat)^?1 h^?1, and the isotacticity index is 95%. The introduction of hydrogen into the reaction zone makes it possible to efficiently control the molecular weight of PP, increases the catalyst activity by a factor of 1.5–2.5, and somewhat decreases the isotacticity index (from 94 to 91–92%).     

Copolymerization of propylene oxide and carbon disulfide with diethylzinc–electron-donor catalyst

Copolymerization of propylene oxide with carbon disulfide was studied by using a catalyst consisting of diethylzinc (ZnEt₂) and various electron donors. Tertiary amines, tertiary phosphines, and hexamethylphosphoric triamide were the effective donors for the copolymerization, but ZnEt₂–water, alcohol, and primary or secondary amines having high activities for the homopolymerization of propylene oxide were not effective for the copolymerization of propylene oxide and carbon disulfide. The copolymers obtained were of low molecular weight and had a monomer unit ratio (CS₂/PO) of 0.5–0.7. In addition, a considerable amount of 1,3-oxathioran-4-methyl-2-thion was isolated as a by-product.