The Polymerization of Methyl Methacrylate in the Presence of a New Homogeneous Yttrium Catalyst

Methyl methacrylate(MMA) polymerized in the presence of a new homogeneous catalyst of Y(acac)₃-(i-Bu)₃Al-BuLi. The effects of MMA/Y, Al/Y, Li/Ymolar ratios, polymerization temperature and time are reported. The results show that a small amount of butyl lithium could greatly enhance the activity of the catalyst and the polymerization reaction could be carried out at low temperatures (-25℃-10℃) with a high conversion. 200 kg of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) with 63% syndiotacticity could be prepared by using 1 mole of yttrium.