Effect of reaction parameters on the polymerization of methyl methacrylate with nickel acetylacetonate/methylaluminoane

Polymerizations of methyl methacrylate (MMA) employing nickel acetylacetonate [Ni(acac)₂] as catalyst combined with methylaluminoxane (MAO) as cocatalyst were investigated. The main purpose of this work is concerned with the study of reaction parameters MMA polymerization. Temperature of polymerization, Al/Ni mole ratio, type of solvent, catalyst concentration and time dependence were examined. The influence of Lewis bases on the polymerization was also studied. The binary system Ni(acac)₂/MAO was the only one able to polymerize MMA at the conditions employed in this work. The cocatalytic activity of MAO was compared to those of common alkylaluminium compounds. The polymers were characterized by gel-permeation chromatography (GPC) and ¹³C-NMR techniques. Received: 20 August 1996/Revised: 4 December 1996/Accepted: 9 December 1996     

Polymerization of methyl methacrylate with Ni(acac)2–methylaluminoxane catalyst

Polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) with nickel(II) acetylacetonate [Ni(acac)₂] in combination with methylaluminoxane (MAO) was investigated. Ni(acac)₂ was found to be an effective catalyst for the polymerization of MMA. From a kinetic study of the polymerization of MMA with the Ni(acac)₂–MAO catalyst, the overall activation energy was estimated to be 15 kJmol⁻¹. The polymerization rate (R_p) was expressed as follows: R_p = k [MMA]^1.0[Ni(acac)₂–MAO]^0.6 (the MAO/Ni mole ratio was kept constant). The mechanism for the polymerization of vinyl monomers with the Ni(acac)₂–MAO catalyst is discussed. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry     

Isospecific polymerization of styrene with supported nickel acetylacetonate/methylaluminoxane catalysts

Summary The polymerization of styrene with catalysts based on Ni(acac)₂ supported on SiO₂ and Al₂O₃ was investigated. Using catalysts based on MAO supported on silica, a highly isotactic polystyrene was obtained. Nevertheless, the Al₂O₃-supported catalyst can promote isospecific polymerization activated by common. alkyl aluminum compounds even by any prior support treatment with MAO. Received: 3 March 1998/Revised version: 14 April 1998/Accepted: 14 April 1998     

Copolymerization of styrene and butadiene with nickel compounds–methylaluminoxane catalysts

Copolymerization of styrene (St) and butadiene (Bd) with nickel(II) compound (NiX₂) in combination with methylaluminoxane (MAO) was investigated at the monomer feed ratio of 1:1. Copolymerization of St and Bd induced with NiX₂–MAO catalysts (X = acac, OCOC₆H₅, OCOC₁₈H₃₅, Cl, Cp) gave copolymers with high cis‐1,4 contents of Bd units. The St and cis‐1,4 units of the Bd units in the copolymer were not significantly affected by the X group of NiX₂, although the copolymer yields depended on the substituent. The copolymer yields depended on the solvent used for the copolymerization with the Ni(acac)₂–MAO catalyst; an aromatic hydrocarbon was more favourable than a non‐aromatic hydrocarbon. The effects of triphenylphosphine (TPP) and trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) on copolymerization of St and Bd with the Ni(acac)₂–MAO catalyst were seen the microstructure of Bd units in the copolymer. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry     

POLYMERIZATION KINETICS AND MODELING OF SLURRY ETHYLENE POLYMERIZATION PROCESS WITH METALLOCENE/MAO CATALYSTS

Polymerization methods of ethylene include the slurry, solution, and gas-phase processes. This study investigates polymerization conditions and kinetics under slurry process. Typical metallocene catalyst/cocatalyst Cp₂ZrCl₂/MAO system was used for ethylene polymerization. Two kinds of polymerization kinetics were compared in this study, multiple active-site model and transfer-effect model. The kinetic studies used metallocene-type polymerization kinetics, including catalyst activation, initiation, chain propagation, chain transfer, and termination steps. In addition, kinetic constants of polymerization reaction model were calculated. Calculation results of catalyst activity and molecular weight were compared with experimental results, indicating their good correlation. Moreover, the conventional polymerization was modified to accurately predict the molecular weight behaviors under various reaction conditions with the proposed transfer-effect model. Exactly, how reaction time, pressure, catalyst concentration, and cocatalyst ratio affect catalyst activity and molecular weight of the polymer were also discussed.     

Syndiotactic polymerization of methyl methacrylate with Ni(acac)<Subscript>2</Subscript>-methylaluminoxane catalyst

In this study, syndiotactic-rich poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is obtained by using a soluble nickle acetylacetonate [Ni(acac)₂] and modified methylaluminoxane (MMAO-3A) catalyst system under modest polymerization conditions. The main purpose of this work is concerned with the study of previous conflicting stereospecificity data. Types of MAO, temperature of polymerization, MAO/Ni(acac)₂ (Al/Ni) mole ratio, and various solvents have been investigated in the MMA polymerization. Particularly, high syndiotactic PMMA [(rr) > 91 %] has been obtained when MMAO-3A is used as cocatalyst with Al/Ni ratio of ca. 50 or polymerization temperature ca. 0 °C. As expected, the prepared syndiotacticity-rich PMMA has a higher glass transition temperature (T _g) within 120 ~ 127 °C. The details of the polymerization mechanism, especially in relation to the stereoregularity problems are under investigation.     

Polymerization of ethylene by chromium acetylacetonate/methylaluminoxane catalyst system

Summary The present paper deals with polymerization of ethylene by chromium acetylacetonate - Cr(acac)₃ - activated by alkylaluminium, e.g. Al(C₂H₅)₃ or Al(i-C₅H₉)₃, or methylaluminoxane (MAO). The influence of polymerization parameters on catalyst performance, such as Al/Cr mole ratio, temperature, aging time, type of cocatalyst, was investigated. High activities were obtained only when MAO was the cocatalyst. The polymers were characterized by size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyses. Received: 11 September 1997/Revised version: 5 January 1998/Accepted: 20 March 1998     

Ethylene polymerization with hafnocene adamantolate/MAO system

Summary A new alcoholate of cyclopentadienyl metallocene with voluminous group as ligand substituting chlorine atoms and formula Cp₂Hf(OMAd)₂ (where Cp = cyclopentadienyl and OMAd = derived of 2-methyl-2-adamantol) was synthesized and employed as catalyst for olefin polymerization. The compound was evaluated in ethylene polymerization activated by methylaluminoxane (MAO) using several experimental conditions. These conditions were determined by a statistic method, and a model for dependent variables like catalyst activity and average molecular weight of polymers were developed. The hafnocene alcoholate produced polyethylenes with molecular weights in the same range of the corresponding metallocene dichloride. The new catalyst system showed high stability under temperature of 100°C. In the presence of H₂ as molecular weight controlling agent, the catalyst showed a maximum of activity in the concentration range used. Received: 10 March 2000/Revised version: 13 September 2000/Accepted: 13 September 2000     

Effects of trisobutylaluminium on styrene polymerization with Ni(acac)2 /MAO/SiO2 catalyst system activated by methylaluminoxane

Summary Styrene polymerization with Ni(acac)₂/MAO/SiO₂ catalytic system was carried out in the presence of methylaluminoxane (MAO), triisobutylaluminum (TIBA) or MAO and TIBA mixture as activators. The catalytic system activated only by TIBA produced polymer with 53% of isotacticity. When the catalytic system was activated by a mixture of MAO and TIBA the polymer isotacticity increases as MAO concentration increases. In this case, the maximum of isotacticity was 59%. The polymer has presented lower molecular weight than the polymer obtained by MAO as activators and the polymer microstructure was not explained by Markov first-order model. In addition, ¹³C NMR spectra of the polymers obtained after extraction with MEK, have indicated that there are two active sites in this catalytic system. Received: 28 November 2001 / Revised version: 24 May 2002 / Accepted: 29 May 2002     

Copolymerization of styrene and methyl methacrylate with nickel acetylacetonate/methylaluminoxane catalyst system

The present work deals with copolymerization of styrene (STY) and methyl methacrylate (MMA) catalysed by nickel acetylacetonate - Ni(acac) ₂ , employing methylaluminoxane (MAO) as cocatalyst. This catalyst system presented low catalyst activities for STY homopolymerization and very high activities for MMA. It seems that the catalyst system based on Ni(acac) ₂ /MAO is effective for the copolymerization of MMA and STY to give block copolymer but it also produced polystyrene and poly(methyl methacrylate) homopolymers. The polymers were characterized by ¹³ C NMR, GPC and FTIR. The polystyrene homopolymer was identified by IR and NMR analyses of the cyclohexane soluble fraction. The presence of absorption bands correspondent to carbonyl group and aromatic ring was observed in the IR spectrum of the acetic acid soluble part. This result is a clue that STY-MMA copolymer with low molecular weight was produced. The high molecular weight copolymer (acetic acid insoluble fraction) was also characterized by IR analysis which indicated the presence of characteristic absorption bands of carbonyl group and aromatic ring. These results were confirmed by ¹³ C NMR analysis. Received: 6 August 1997/Revised version: 29 December 1997/Accepted: 7 January 1998     

Bulk polymerization of vinyl chloride with half-titanocene/MAO catalyst

Bulk polymerization of vinyl chloride (VC) with Cp^∗Ti(OPh)₃/MAO catalyst was investigated. The bulk polymerization of VC with Cp^∗Ti(OPh)₃/MAO catalyst proceeded to give poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) with high molecular weight in good yields. The M_n of the polymer increased in direct proportion to polymer yields and the line passed through the origin. The M_w/M_n of the polymer decreased with an increase of polymer yield. The GPC elution curves were unimodal and the whole curves shifted clearly to the higher molecular weight as a function of reaction time. This indicates that the control of molecular weight can be achieved in the polymerization of VC with Cp^∗Ti(OPh)₃/MAO catalyst even in bulk. The structure of PVC obtained from the bulk polymerization of VC with Cp^∗Ti(OPh)₃/MAO catalyst consists of a regular structure. The thermal stability of the polymer obtained with Cp^∗Ti(OPh)/MAO catalyst was higher than that of PVC obtained from radical polymerization and depended on the molecular weight of the polymer. In contrast to that, the initial decomposition temperature of the polymer obtained from a radical polymerization did not depend on the molecular weight. We presumed that the decomposition of the polymer obtained with Cp^∗Ti(OPh)₃/MAO catalyst initiated at the chain end.     

Polymerization of styrene using bis(β‐ketoamino)nickel(II)/methylaluminoxane catalytic systems

Styrene (St) was polymerized in toluene solution by using bis(β‐ketoamino)nickel(II) complex as the catalyst precursor and methylaluminoxane (MAO) as the cocatalyst. The polymerization conditions, such as Al : Ni ratio, monomer concentration, reaction temperature, and polymerization time, were studied in detail. Both of the bis(β‐ketoamino)nickel(II)/MAO catalytic systems exhibited higher activity for polymerization of styrene, and polymerization gave moderate molecular weight of polystyrene with relatively narrow molecular weight distribution (M_w/M_n < 1.6). The obtained polymer was confirmed to be atactic polystyrene by analyzing the stereo‐triad distributions mm, mr, and rr of aromatic carbon C¹ in NMR spectrum of the polymer. The mechanism of the polymerization was also discussed and a metal–carbon coordination mechanism was proposed. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007     

乙酰丙酮钴(Ⅱ)对甲苯液相空气氧化反应的催化性能

以乙酰丙酮钴(Co(acac)₂)为催化剂,在1 L高压搅拌反应釜中研究了其对甲苯液相空气氧化反应的催化性能和反应产物分布,考察了催化剂用量对甲苯转化率和苯甲酸收率的影响,并考察了不同温度下不同催化剂用量时的催化剂寿命。结果表明,Co(acac)₂催化甲苯液相氧化是平行连串的复杂反应,Co(acac)₂的催化活性存在"催化-抑制转换"现象,适宜的催化剂用量为0.0044%(质量分数);催化剂的寿命随反应温度变化存在一个最大值,165℃时催化剂寿命最长,反应温度较低(<165℃)时催化剂更容易失活;在165℃、Co(acac)₂用量为0.0044%时,反应4 h,甲苯转化率为19%,苯甲酸收率为80%;与醋酸钴、环烷酸钴等钴盐催化剂相比,Co(acac)₂催化剂具有用量少、催化活性时间长的优点,可有效地减缓钴盐结垢现象,Co(acac)₂催化剂对甲苯液相空气氧化反应具有良好的催化性能。     

Synthesis of linear low density polyethylene with a nano-sized silica supported Cp2ZrCl2/MAO catalyst

A nano-sized silica supported Cp₂ZrCl₂/MAO catalyst was used to catalyze the copolymerization of ethylene/1-hexene and ethylene/1-octene to produce linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) in a batch reactor. Under identical reaction conditions, the nano-sized catalyst exhibited significantly higher polymerization activity, and produced copolymer with greater molecular weight and smaller polydispersity index than a corresponding micro-sized catalyst, which was ascribed to the much lower internal diffusion resistance of the nano-sized catalyst. Copolymer density decreased with the increase of polymerization temperature, probably due to the decrease of reactivity ratio r ₁ and ethylene solubility with increasing temperature. Polymerization activity of the nano-sized catalyst increased rapidly with increasing comonomer concentration. Ethylene/1-octene exhibited higher polymerization activity and had a stronger comonomer effect than ethylene/1-hexene.     

Effect of cocatalyst on the chemical composition distribution and microstructure of ethylene-hexene copolymer produced by a metallocene/Ziegler-Natta hybrid catalyst

A silica-magnesium bisupport (SMB) was prepared by a sol-gel method for use as a support for metallocene/Ziegler-Natta hybrid catalyst. The SMB was treated with methylaluminoxane (MAO) prior to the immobilization of TiCl₄ and rac-Et(Ind)₂ZrCl₂. The prepared rac-Et(Ind)₂ZrCl₂/TiCl₄/MAO/SMB catalyst was applied to the ethylenehexene copolymerization with a variation of cocatalyst species (polymerization run 1: triisobutylaluminum (TIBAL) and methylaluminoxane (MAO), polymerization run 2: triethylaluminum (TEA) and methylaluminoxane (MAO)). The effect of cocatalysts on the chemical composition distributions (CCDs) and microstructures of ethylene-hexene copolymers was examined. It was found that the catalytic activity in polymerization run 1 was a little higher than that in polymerization run 2, because of the enhanced catalytic activity at the initial stage in polymerization run 1. The chemical composition distributions (CCDs) in the two copolymers showed six peaks and exhibited a similar trend. However, the lamellas in the ethylene-hexene copolymer produced in polymerization run 1 were distributed over smaller sizes than those in the copolymer produced in polymerization run 2. It was also revealed that the rac-Et(Ind)₂ZrCl₂/TiCl₄/MAO/SMB catalyst preferably produced the ethylene-hexene copolymer with non-blocky sequence when TEA and MAO were used as cocatalysts.     

Syndioselective propylene polymerization: Comparison of Me2C(Cp)(Flu)ZrMe2 with Et(Cp)(Flu)ZrMe2

The kinetics and stereochemical control of propylene polymerization initiated by syndiospecific isopropylidene(1-η⁵-cyclopentadienyl)(1-η⁵-fluorenyl)-dimethylzirconium–methyl aluminoxane (1/MAO) and (1-fluorenyl-2-cyclopentadienylethane)-dimethylzirconium–MAO (2/MAO) were investigated. The influence of MAO concentration and polymerization temperature (T_p) on polymerization kinetics and polypropylene properties, such as molecular weight, molecular weight distribution (MWD), and stereoselectivity, have been studied in detail. The activity of both catalytic systems is very sensitive to the concentration of MAO. The 1/MAO and 2/MAO catalysts record maximum activity when [Al]/[Zr] ratio is around 1300 and 2500, respectively. The activity and the degree of stereochemical control are also sensitive to T_p. The 2/MAO catalyst is much more thermally stable than 1/MAO catalyst; the former shows maximum activity at 80°C, whereas the latter shows maximum activity at 20°C. The cationic active species generated by 2/MAO is not so stereorigid as those by 1/MAO so that 2/MAO catalyst produces sPP of broad MWD (4.43–6.38) and low syndiospecificity at high T_p. When T_p is above 50°C, 2/MAO catalyst produces completely atactic polypropylene. The results of fractionation of sPP samples produced by 1/MAO and 2/MAO demonstrate that 1/MAO catalyst is characterized by uniform active sites, but 2/MAO is characterized by multiple active sites. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 70: 973–983, 1998     

Late Transition Metal Catalyst Based on Cobalt for Polymerization of Ethylene

The late transition metal catalyst of [2,6-diacethylpyridinebis(2,6-diisopropylphenylimine)]cobalt(II) dichloride was prepared under controlled conditions and used for polymerization of ethylene. Methylaluminoxane (MAO) and triisobuthylaluminum (TIBA) were used as a cocatalyst and a scavenger, respectively. The highest activity of the catalyst was obtained at about 30°C; the activity decreased with increasing temperature. At polymerization temperatures higher than 50°C not only was a sharp decrease in the activity observed but also low molecular weight polyethylene product that was oily in appearance was obtained. The polymerization activity increased with increasing both of the monomer pressure and [MAO]:[Co] ratio. However, fouling of the reactor was strongly increased with increasing both of the monomer pressure and the amount of MAO used for the homogeneous polymerization. Hydrogen was used as the chain transfer. The activity of the catalyst and the viscosity average molecular weight (M_v) of the polymer obtained were not sensitive to hydrogen concentration. However, the viscosity average molecular weight of the polymer decreased with the monomer pressure. The (M_v), the melting point, and the crystallinity of the resulting polymer at the monomer pressure of 1 bar and polymerization temperature of 20°C were 1.2 × 10⁵, 133°C, and 67%, respectively. Heterogeneous polymerization of ethylene using the catalyst and the MAO/SiO₂ improved morphology of the resulting polymer; however, the activity of the catalyst was also decreased. Fouling of the reactor was eliminated using the supported catalyst system.     

Novel monotitanocene and methylaluminoxane catalyst for syndiospecific polymerization of styrene

Syndiotactic polystyrene (sPS) was synthesized with a novel monotitanocene complex of η⁵‐pentamethylcyclopentadienyltri‐4‐methoxyphenoxy titanium [Cp*Ti(OC₆H₄OCH₃)₃] activated by methylaluminoxane (MAO) in different polymerization media, including heptane, toluene, chlorobenzene, and neat styrene. In all cases bulk polymerization produced sPS with the highest activity and molecular weight. Solution polymerization produced much better activity in heptane than in the other solvents. Using a solvent with a higher dipole moment, such as chlorobenzene resulted in lower activity and syndiotacticity because of the stronger coordination of solvent with the Ti(III) active species, which controlled syndiospecific polymerization of styrene. With bulk polymerization at a higher polymerization temperature the Cp*Ti(OC₆H₄OCH₃)₃–MAO catalyst produced sPS with high catalytic activity and molecular weight. The external addition of triisobutylaluminum (TIBA) to the Cp*Ti(OC₆H₄OCH₃)₃–MAO system catalyzing styrene polymerization led to significant improvement of activity at a lower Al:Ti molar ratio, while the syndiotacticity and molecular weight of the yields were little affected. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 79: 1243–1248, 2001     

Polymerization of styrene using novel bispyrazolylimine dinickel (II)/methylaluminoxane catalytic systems

The polymerization of styrene with a series of bispyrazolylimine dinickel (II) complexes of bis‐2‐(C₃HN₂(R₁)₂‐3,5)(C(R₂) = N(C₆H₃(CH₃)₂‐2,6)Ni₂Br₄ (complex 1 : R₁ = CH₃, R₂ = Ph; complex 2 : R₁ = CH₃, R₂ = 2,4,6‐trimethylphenyl; complex 3 : R₁ = R₂ = Ph; complex 4 : R₁ = Ph, R₂ = 2,4,6‐trimethylphenyl) in the presence of methylaluminoxane (MAO) was studied. The influences of polymerization parameters such as polymerization temperature, Al/Ni molar ratio, reaction time, and catalyst concentration on catalytic activity and molecular weight of the polystyrene were investigated in detail. The influence of the bulkiness of the substituents on polymerization activity was also studied. All of the four catalytic systems exhibited high activity (up to 10.50 × 10⁵ gPS/(mol Ni h)) for styrene polymerization and provide polystyrene with moderate to low molecular weights (M_w = 4.76 × 10⁴–0.71 × 10⁴ g/mol) and narrower molecular weight distributions about 2. The obtained polystyrene was characterized by means of FTIR, ¹H‐NMR, and ¹³C‐NMR techniques. The results indicated that the polystyrene was atactic polymer. The analysis of the end groups of polystyrene indicated that styrene polymerization with bispyrazolylimine dinickel complexes/MAO catalytic systems proceeded through a coordination mechanism. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011.     

Highly effective organometallic‐mediated radical polymerization of vinyl acetate using alumina‐supported Co(acac)2 catalyst: A case study of adsorption and polymerization

An alumina support system for cobalt^(II) acetylacetonate (Co(acac)₂) catalyst was studied for the cobalt‐mediated radical polymerization (CMRP) of vinyl acetate (VAc). We report a simple but efficient technique to produce this supported catalysts through the adsorption of Co(acac)₂ on the surface of alumina particles. Moreover, kinetic and thermodynamic study of Co(acac)₂ adsorption on the alumina support were conducted and the influence of effective parameters were investigated. It was found that using alumina‐supported Co(acac)₂ for radical polymerization of VAc yields polymers with controlled molecular weight, narrow molecular weight distribution, and high purity. For the alumina‐supported CMRP, changing the polymerization mechanism and domination of termination pathway compared to degenerate transfer pathway resulted in a 2.5 times increase in polymerization rate (k_ap) and a drop in induction time while maintaining a good control of the VAc polymerization. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 46057.