Styrene/(Styrene Derivative) and Styrene/(1-Alkene) Copolymerization using Ph2Zn-Additive Initiator Systems

Diphenylzinc-metallocene-MAO initiator systems have proven to be effective initiator systems for styrene and for substituted styrenes as well as for their styrene/(styrene-derivative) copolymerization. Titanocene produced almost pure syndiotactic polymers while zirconocenes gave atactic polystyrene together with a low content, less than 20%, of syndiotactic polystyrene. Systems including a zirconocene, particularly ethenyl(bisindenyl)zirconium dichloride were effective initiators of 1-alkene polymerization and of styrene/1-alkene copolymerization. Conversion to polymer increases with the molecular size of 1-alkene. Styrene derivative and styrene/(styrene derivative) polymerization was greatly influenced by the inductive effect of substituent and by steric hindrance due to the monomer.