The effect of the disperse composition of a titanium catalyst on the kinetic heterogeneity of isoprene polymerization centers

The kinetic heterogeneity of centers of isoprene polymerization on fractions of titanium catalyst particles is studied. It is found that the isoprene polymerization with a catalyst consisted of particles 0.03–0.14 μm in diameter involves centers of one type with low reactivity. On catalyst particles 0.15–4.50 μm in diameter, the active centers of polymerization of two types with high reactivity may be formed. The addition of modifiers, a reduced temperature of catalyst formation, and the hydrodynamic effect result in the appearance of a narrow fraction of particles 0.15–0.18 μm in diameter with one type of surface active center that generates high-molecular-mass cis-1,4-polyisoprene. The obtained results are in accordance with the concept of particles 0.15–4.50 μm in diameter as aggregates of the elementary crystallites of β-TiCl₃ connected via additional Al-Cl bonds to surface titanium atoms. At the same time, catalyst particles 0.03–0.14 μm in diameter are formed by the minimum number of elementary crystallites, where titanium atoms are bound to a smaller number of chlorine atoms.