Ethylene polymerization with a supported vanadium catalyst obtained by the molecular deposition method

An active-phase monolayer has been deposited on SiO₂ using replacement of the surface OH groups by VOCl₃ vapour. The amount of vanadium fixed on the SiO₂ surface depends on the initial concentration of the silanol groups and ranges from 3.36 to 1.43%. In combination with diethyl aluminium chloride, the products are active catalysts for ethylene polymerization. The effects of the reaction conditions (the time of catalyst-complex formation, the catalyst life time and the temperature of polymerization) as well as the effect of the vanadium content, the A1:V ratio and the presence of diphenyl magnesium on the activity of the catalyst system have been investigated. The catalyst activity was found to depend strongly on the amount of vanadium fixed on the support surface. The maximum productivity obtained is about 22,000 gPE/g vanadium. Some basic characteristics of the synthesized polymer such as tensile strength, elongation at break, density and crystallization degree are given.