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.     

Polymerization of alkylene oxides by dialkylzinc–lewis base systems

Dialkylzinc–Lewis base systems are found to be active catalysts for the polymerization of alkylene oxides. The diethylzinc–dimethyl sulfoxide system is especially effective in the preparation of high polymers of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide. Diethylzine does not react with dimethyl sulfoxide, but there is strong association between the compounds. The proton magnetic resonance spectrum of a poly(ethylene oxide) prepared by the catalyst system suggests that the n-butoxyl group is attached to the end of the polymer chain. Polymerization of ethylene oxide seems to be initiated by the ethyl–zinc bond. The active species of the system seems to be diethylzinc coordinated with dimethyl sulfoxide. The efficiency of the catalyst system for the formation of high molecular weight polymer is 10^?1?10^?2. The other part of the catalyst is responsible for the formation of low polymers.     

Monomer-Isomerization polymerization. XXVIII. Catalytic activity of transition metals and alkylaluminums in monomer-isomerization polymerization of 2-butene

Monomer-isomerization polymerization of cis-2-butene (c2B) with Ziegler–Natta catalysts was studied to find a highly active catalyst. Among the transition metals [TiCl₃, TiCl₄, VCl₃, VOCl₃, and V (acac)₃] and alkylauminums used, TiCl₃? R₃Al (R = C₂H₅ and i-C₄H₉) was found to show a high-activity for monomer-isomerization polymerization of c2B. The polymer yield was low with TiCl₄? (C₂H₅)₃Al catalyst. However, when NiCl₂ was added to this catalyst, the polymer yield increased. With TiCl₃? (C₂H₅)₃Al catalyst, the effect of the Al/Ti molar ratio was observed and a maximum for the polymer yields was obtained at molar ratios of 2.0–3.0, but the isomerization increased as a function of Al/Ti molar ratio. The valence state of titanium on active sites for isomerization and polymerization is discussed.     

Active sites,nature and mechanism of carbon dioxide—propylene oxide copolymerization and cyclization reactions employing organozinc—oxygen catalysts

Reaction of carbon dioxide with propylene oxide in the presence of catalysts with condensed zinc species (;derived from diethylzinc and dihydric phenols, e.g. catechol _o? C₆H₄(;OH)₂ and saligenin ₀? HOC₆H₄CH₂OH) yields poly(;propylene carbonate) as well as propylene carbonate. The above reaction in the presence of catalysts with noncondensed zinc species (;derived from diethylzinc and phenol) yields propylene carbonate as the main product, but in relatively low yield. The mechanism of the linear and cyclic carbonate formation is discussed in terms of the nature of the catalyst's active sites for both types.     

Polymerization of vinylcyclohexane with ziegler–natta catalyst

Polymerization of vinylcyclohexane (VCHA) with TiCl₃–aluminum alkyl catalysts was investigated. The polymerization rate of VCHA was low due to the branch at the position adjacent to the reacting double bond. The effects of aluminum alkyl on the polymerization and monomer-isomerization were observed; the polymer yield decreased in the following order: (CH₃)₃Al > (i–C₄H₉)₃Al > (C₂H₅)₃Al. Isomerization of VCHA was observed with the TiCl₃–(i–C₄H₉)₃Al and the TiCl₃–(C₂H₅)₃Al catalysts during the polymerization, while with the TiCl₃–(CH₃)₃Al catalyst such isomerization was not observed. Monomer-isomerization copolymerization of VCHA and trans-2-butene took place to give copolymers consisting of VCHA and 1-butene units.     

Simultaneous polymerization and formation of polyacetylene film on the surface of concentrated soluble Ziegler-type catalyst solution

A direct method of simultaneously polymerizing and forming acetylene monomer to produce uniformly thin films of polyacetylene was investigated in terms of catalyst system, catalyst concentration, and polymerization temperature. The best catalyst was a Ti(OC₄H₉)₄–Al(C₂H₅)₃ system (Al/Ti = 3–4) and the critical concentration was 3 mmole/l. of Ti(OC₄H₉)₄. Below the critical concentration, only a solid or a powder was obtained. The configuration of the polymers obtained depends strongly upon the polymerization temperature. Thus an all-cis polymer was obtained at temperatures lower than ?78°C, whereas an all-trans polymer resulted at temperatures higher than 150°C. Observations either in an electron microscope by direct transmission or in a scanning electron microscope showed that the film is composed of an accumulation of fibrils about 200–300 Å in width and of indefinite length.     

Simultaneous polymerization and formation of polyacetylene film on the surface of concentrated soluble Ziegler-type catalyst solution

A direct method of simultaneously polymerizing and forming acetylene monomer to produce uniformly thin films of polyacetylene was investigated in terms of catalyst system, catalyst concentration, and polymerization temperature. The best catalyst was a Ti(OC₄H₉)₄,–AI(C₂H₅)₃ system (Al/Ti = 3–4) and the critical concentration was 3 mmole/l. of Ti(OC₄H₉)₄. Below the critical concentration, only a solid or a powder was obtained. The configuration of the polymers obtained depends strongly upon the polymerization temperature. Thus an all-cis polymer was obtained at temperatures lower than −78°C, whereas an all-trans polymer resulted at temperatures higher than 150°C. Observations either in an electron microscope by direct transmission or in a scanning electron microscope showed that the film is composed of an accumulation of fibrils about 200–300 Å in width and of indefinite length.     

Nitrogen-containing organozinc and organoaluminum as catalyst for stereospecific polymerization of propylene oxide

Catalytic activities of the reaction products of diethylzinc or triethylaluminum with primary amines in the polymerization of propylene oxide were studied. Generally, organozinc compounds give higher ratio of the crystalline to the amorphous polymer than the organoaluminums. In the reactions of organometallic compounds with primary amines, Et₂AlNPhAlEt₂, Et₂AlN-t-BuAlEt₂, EtZnNH-t-Bu, and EtZn-t-BuZnEt were isolated in crystalline state. EtZnN-t-BuZnEt proved to be an excellent catalyst for the stereospecific polymerization of propylene oxide and forms coordination complexes with some electron donors such as dioxane, pyridine, epichlorohydrin and propylene oxide. The propylene oxide complex is unstable in solution and decomposes at temperatures above room temperature to give poly(propylene oxide), while the pyridine complex has no catalytic activity. Therefore, it is concluded that the polymerization of propylene oxide with this catalyst proceeds through the coordination of propylene oxide to the zinc atom of the catalyst.     

A particle growth theory for heterogeneous Ziegler polymerization

Samples of “as produced” polypropylene particles at progressively higher yield levels (grams polymer/gram catalyst) were sliced and examined by electron microscopy. In the polymerization of propylene with the TiCl₃–(C₂H₅)₂AlCl catalyst system the catalyst breaks up immediately into basic 100–1000 Å particles. As the yield increases, the catalyst particles gradually disappear and finally become completely dispersed in the polymer particle. These results are compatible with a theory which views the catalyst as a porous crystal containing a single species of active sites uniformly distributed. As polymerization progresses, all sites should eventually initiate a polymer chain whose length should be inversely proportional to the depth of the site below the surface of the particle. Two apparently equivalent statistical models were developed on the basis of this concept. Both models predict a slow increase in the X?_w/X?_n ration (Q) with increasing molecular weight, after an initial rapid increase. The most useful of these models states that Q is equal to the sum of X?_w terms of the simple harmonic series, and that a complete spectrum of x-mers should be present in the product. This agrees satisfactorily with analytically determined values.     

Monomer-isomerization polymerization. XXVI. Formation of polyallylcyclohexane from propenylcyclohexane through monomer-isomerization polymerization with Ziegler–Natta catalysts

Monomer-isomerization polymerization of propenycyclohexane (PCH) with TiCl₃ and R_3-xAICI_x (R = C₂H₅ or i-C₄H₉, x = 1–3) catalysts was studied. It was found that PCH underwent monomer-isomerization polymerization to give a high molecular weight polymer consisting of an allylcyclohexane (ACH) repeat unit. Among the alkyaluminum cocatalysts examined, (C₂H₅)₃Al was the most effective cocatalyst for the monomer-isomerization polymerization of PCH, and a maximum for the polymerization was observed at a molar ratio of Al/Ti of about 2.0. The addition of isomerization catalysts such as nickel acetylacetonate [Ni(acac)₂] to the TiCl₃–(C₂H₅)₃Al catalyst accelerated the monomer-isomerization polymerization of PCH and gave a maximum for the polymerization at a Ni/Ti molar ratio of 0.5. PCH also undergoes monomer-isomerization copolymerization with 2-butene (2B).     

Monomer-isomerization polymerization. XI. Monomer-isomerization copolymerizations of 2-butene with 2-pentene and 2-hexene with Ziegler-Natta catalyst

2-Pentene and 2-hexene were found to undergo monomer-isomerization copolymerizations with 2-butene by Al(C₂H₅)₃–VCl₃ and Al(C₂H₅)₃–TiCl₃ catalysts in the presence of nickel dimethylglyoxime or transition metal acetylacetonates to yield copolymers consisting of the respective 1-olefin units. For comparison, the copolymerizations of 1-pentene with 1-butene and 1-hexene with 1-butene by Al(C₂H₅)₃–VCl₃ catalyst were also attempted. The compositions of the copolymers obtained from these copolymerizations were determined by using the calibration curves between the compositions of the respective homopolymer mixtures and the values of D₇₆₆/D₁₃₈₀ in the infrared spectra. The monomer reactivity ratios for the monomer-isomerization copolymerizations of 2-butene (M₁) with 2-pentene and 2-hexene, in which the concentrations of both 1-olefins calculated from the observed isomer distribution were used as those in the monomer feed mixture, and for the ordinary copolymerizations of 1-butene (M₁) with 1-pentene and 1-hexene by Al(C₂H₅)₃-VCl₃ catalyst were determined as follows: 2-butene (M₁)/2-pentene (M₂): r₁ = 0.14, r₂ = 0.99; 1-butene (M₁)/1-pentene (M₂): r₁ = 0.30, r₂ = 0.74; 2-butene (M₁)/2-hexene (M₂): r₁ = 0.11, r₂ = 0.62; 1-butene (M₁)/1-hexene (M₂): r₁ = 0.13, r₂ = 0.90.     

Polymerization of propylene carbonate

Polymerization of propylene carbonate was carried out at 120–180°C mainly with the use of diethylzinc catalyst. The polymer was a pale-yellow, viscous material of relatively low molecular weight (1000–4000). From the spectroscopic analysis of the polymer and its hydrolyzed product, the polymer was determined to have the structure where x ? 0.50, y ? 0.25, and z ? 0.25. This strongly suggested that the polymerization of propylene carbonate proceeded via 2,7-dimethyl-1,4,6,9-tetraoxaspiro[4,4]nonane (DTN) as an intermediate compound. Hence, DTN was synthesized and polymerized with the use of diethylzinc catalyst. The structure of the polymer thus prepared coincided exactly with that of the polymer from propylene carbonate. From these, a plausible mechanism of the polymerization was developed.     

Bis(β‐enaminoketonato) vanadium (III or IV) complexes as catalysts for olefin polymerization

Bis(β‐enaminoketonato) vanadium(III) complexes ( 2a–c ) [O(R₁)C?C(H)_xC(R₂)?NC₆H₅]₂VCl(THF) and the corresponding vanadium(IV) complexes ( 3a–c ) [O(R₁)C?C(H)_xC(R₂)? NC₆H₅]₂VO (R₁ = ? (CH₂)₄? , R₂ = H, x = 0, a ; R₁ = ? C₆H₅, R₂ = H, x = 1, b ; R₁ = ? C₆H₅, R₂ = ? C₆H₅, x = 1, c ) have been synthesized from VCl₃(THF)₃ and VOCl₂(THF)₂, respectively, by treating with 2.0 equivalent β‐enaminoketonato ligands in tetrahydrofuran. Structures of 2b and 3a–c were further confirmed by X‐ray crystallographic analysis. The complexes were investigated as the catalysts for ethylene polymerization in the presence of Et₂AlCl. Complexes 2a–c and 3a–c exhibited high catalytic activities (up to 23.76 kg of PE/mmol_V h bar), and afforded polymers with unimodal molecular weight distributions at 70 °C indicating the good thermal stability. The catalytic behaviors were influenced not only by the oxidation state of the catalyst precursors but also by the ligand structures. Complexes 2a–c and 3a–c were also effective catalyst precursors for ethylene/1‐hexene copolymerization. The influence of polymerization parameters such as reaction temperature, Al/V molar ratio and hexene feed concentration on the ethylene/hexene copolymerization behaviors have bee also investigated in detail. In addition, the agents such as AlMe₃, AlⁱBu₃, MeMgBr, MgCl₂, and ZnEt₂ were applied to control the molecular weight and molecular weight distribution modal. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 3062–3072, 2010     

Polymerization of butadiene sulfone

Polymerization of butadiene sulfone (BdSO₂) by various catalysts was studied. Azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN), butyllithium, tri-n-butylborn (n-Bu)₃B, boron trifluoride etherate, Ziegler catalyst, and γ-radiation were used as catalysts. Butadiene sulfone did not polymerize with these catalysts at low temperatures (below 60°C.), but polymers were obtained at high temperature with AIBN or (n-Bu)₃B. The polymerization of BdSO₂ initiated by AIBN in benzene at 80–140°C. was studied in detail. The obtained polymers were white, rubberlike materials and insoluble in organic solvents. The polymer composition was independent of monomer and initiator concentrations and reaction time. The sulfur content in polymer decreased with increasing polymerization temperature. The polymers prepared at 80 and 140°C. have the compositions (C₄H₆)_1.55- (SO₂) and (C₄H₆)_3.14(SO₂), respectively, and have double bonds. These polymers were not alternating copolymers of butadiene with sulfur dioxide. The polymerization mechanism was discussed from polymerization rate, polymer composition, and decomposition rate of BdSO₂. From these results, the polymerization was thought to be “decomposition polymerization,” i.e., butadiene and sulfur dioxide, formed by the thermal decomposition of BdSO₂, copolymerized.     

The features of syndiotactic polypropylene

The mechanism of stereoselectivity of propylene insertion in propylene-ethylene copolymerization on a C_S symmetrical zirconium complex i-Pr(Cp) (Flu) ZrCl₂ catalyst is discussed. Calculation results indicate that not only the β-carbon in the growing chain end of the polymer but also the substituent of the β-carbon play an important role in the selectivity of the prochiral face of the next-coming propylene monomer. The stereoregularity of propylene units connected to an ethylene unit (PPE) in propylene-ethylene copolymer was observed to be lower than that in propylene sequences (PPP) in the ¹³C NMR spectrum, which supports the calculation results. Furthermore, the structure and properties of propylene-olefin (ethylene, 1-butene, 1-pentene, 1-hexene, and 4-methyl-1-pentene) copolymers prepared with the i-Pr(Cp) (Flu) ZrCl₂ catalyst system were studied. Propylene-1-butene copolymer exhibits peculiarly lower melting point depression because 1-butene units enter into the unit cell of the crystal structure of syndiotactic polypropylene.     

The thermal reaction of 2-pentene around 500°C at low extent of reaction

The thermal reaction of 2-pentene (cis or trans) has been performed in a static system over the temperature range of 470°–535°C at low extent of reaction and for initial pressures of 20–100 torr. The main products of decomposition are methane and 1,3-butadiene. Other minor primary products have been monitored: trans-2-pentene, trans- and cis-2-butenes, ethane, 1,3-pentadienes, 3-methyl-1-butene, propylene, 1-butene, hydrogen, ethylene, and 1-pentene. The initial orders of formation, 0.8–1.1 for most of the products and 1.5–1.8 for 1-pentene, increase with temperature. The formation of the products and the influence of temperature on their orders can be essentially explained by a free radical chain mechanism. But cis–trans or trans–cis isomerization and hydrogen elimination from cis-2-pentene certainly involve both molecular and free radical processes. The formation of 1-pentene mainly occurs from the abstraction of the hydrogen atom of 2-pentene by resonance stabilized free radicals (C₅H₉.).     

Theoretical study of propylene epoxidation heterogeneous-homogeneous mechanism over MoOx/SiO2 catalyst

The green direct propylene (C₃H₆) epoxidation on MoO_x is well studied by experimental methods, but detailed molecular reaction mechanism studies using in-silico experiments method are few. Here, the different oxidation heterogeneous-homogeneous pathways for MoO_x/SiO₂ catalyst are calculated, mainly involving Mo=O on di-oxo tetracoordinate MoO_x, allyl peroxy (C₃H₅OO•), and allyloxy (C₃H₅O•) radicals. The results show that, for surface reaction mechanism with Mo=O, the barriers of propylene oxide (PO) and acetone generation are too high; in comparison, the byproduct acrolein is more beneficial product with a lower barrier. In heterogeneous-homogeneous pathways, the desorbed allyl (C₃H₅•) from the surface can easily combine with O₂ to synthesize C₃H₅OO• radical, and in the partial oxidation of propylene with C₃H₅OO• as an oxidant, PO is more beneficial with a low barrier compared to byproducts such as propanal, acetone, acetaldehyde, etc. These indicate that (a) gas-phase free radical reactions have important effects on PO generation, in which C₃H₅OO• is the main active species; (b) on MoO_x surface, Mo=O is difficult to be used as the active O species for PO production. Further research is needed on other active sites such as Mo-O-Mo or defective sites.     

Collisional activation study of cyclic polysulfides

Cyclic polysulfides isolated from higher plants, model compounds and their electron impact induced fragment ions have been investigated by various mass spectrometric methods. These species represent three sets of sulfur compounds: C₃H₆S_x (x=1?6), C₂H₄S_x (x=1?5) and CH₂S_x (x=1?4). Three general fragmentation mechanisms are discussed using metastable transitions: (1) the unimolecular loss of structural parts (CH₂S, CH₂ and S_x); (2) fragmentations which involve ring opening reactions, hydrogen migrations and recyclizations of the product ions ([M? CH₃]⁺, [M? CH₃S]⁺, [M? SH]⁺ and [M? CS₂]^+˙); and (3) complete rearrangements preceding the fragmentations ([M? S₂H]⁺ and [M? C₂H₄]^+˙). The cyclic structures of [M]^+˙ and of specific fragment ions have been investigated by comparing the collisional activation spectra of model ions. On the basis of these results the cyclic ions decompose via linear intermediates and then recyclizations of the product ions occur. The stabilities of the fragment ions have been determined by electron efficiency vs electron energy curves.     

Effect of a trifluoromethyl group on the polymerizability of α-olefins by transition metal catalysts

Several α-olefins containing the trifluoromethyl group were prepared and characterized. 4,4,4-Trifluoro-1-butene, 3-trifluoromethyl-1-butene, 5,5,5-trifluoro-1-pentene, and 4-trifluoromethyl-1-pentene were homopolymerized with VCl₃–Al(i-Bu)₃ catalyst. The trifluorobutenes gave low-melting polymers with low fluorine contents. Polymers obtained from the trifluoropentenes were soluble having moderately high intrinsic viscosities. Copolymerizations of these monomers with their nonfluorinated homologs by the same catalyst system indicated low reactivities of the fluoromonomers. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of the fluorinated and nonfluorinated monomers and their respective spectroscopic studies with the catalyst (C₅H₅)₂TiCl₂–Al(CH₃)₃ indicated an electron deficiency of the vinyl group of the fluorobutenes. This was related to the inductive effect of the trifluoromethyl group. The inductive effect of this group was absent in the fluoropentenes and the nonfluorinated monomers. The electron-deficient vinyl group of the fluorobutenes apparently did not allow these monomers to coordinate with the active sites of the catalyst. Polymerization studies of the nonfluorinated monomers, 1-butene, 3-methyl-1-butene, 1-pentane, and 4-methyl-1-pentene, with the catalyst VCl₃–Al(Bu)₃, were performed in the presence of compounds containing the trifluoromethyl group. Results indicated that this group did not retard the rate of polymerization of these monomers. Evidence is presented to show that a catalytic amount of benzotrifluoride enhanced the rate of polymerization of α-olefins, particularly that of sterically hindered monomers such as 3-methyl-1-butene.