Influence of H2O on alternating copolymerization with the EtnAlCl3-n-VOCl3 catalyst system

The effect of the catalytic amount of H₂O was investigated with the Et_nAlCl_3-n-VOCl₃ catalyst system on the alternating copolymerization of acrylic monomers with diolefins and styrene. The presence of the catalytic amount of H₂O produced an improvement in the yield and in the molecular weight as well as the structure of copolymer with the Et_nAlCl_3-n-VOCl₃ catalyst system. The efficiency of the aluminum components in the Et_nAlCl_3-n-VOCl₃ system appears with AlEt₃ and especially with Et_1.5AlCl_1.5. The catalytic activity was found to depend upon the H₂O Et_nAlCl_3-n molar ratio and was also affected by the order of mixing of the catalyst components and the monomers. Effective catalyst could be prepared when the catalyst components (except VOCl₃) were premixed without presence of monomers. The possible catalytic behavior of H₂O was discussed.