The effect of the ethylene pressure on its reaction with 1-hexene, 1-octene and 4-methyl-1-pentene

Summary Copolymers of ethylene and 1-hexexe, 1-octene and 4-methyl-1-pentene were obtained using Et[In]₂ZrCl₂/MAO catalyst at various pressures. The increase of 1-hexene and 1-octene concentration in the feed increases catalyst activity(g/nZr.h.bar) and productivity(g/nZr.h). For 4-methyl-1-pentene the activity is independent on comonomer concentration. Increasing the ethylene pressure the productivity of the copolymerization increases and the activity shows a weak decay. Characterization of the copolymer shows that at higher pressure the cristallinity of the copolymers is higher due to lower comonomer incorporation. There is a good linear correlation of cristallinity with comonomer concentration in the feed for 1-hexene and 1-octene at a fixed pressure, but not for 4-methyl-1-pentene.     

Homo- and copolymerizations of ethylene and α-olefins in <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-hexane catalyzed by Ni(ii)-α-diimine catalyst

Ni(II)-α-diimine catalyst [(2,6-i-Pr)₂C₆H₃-DAB(An)]NiBr₂ plus methylaluminoxane was successfully used in the homopolymerization of ethylene, 1-hexene, and 1-octene and the copolymerization of ethylene with 1-hexene and 1-octene in n-hexane. The polymerization of 1-octene was conducted in a controlled manner with a narrow molecular weight distribution (M _w/M _n = 1.2–1.5) and with the weight-average molecular weight increasing linearly with the monomer conversion. The molecular weights, T _g, T _m, branching degree, and density of the obtained (co)polymers were greatly controlled by ethylene pressure and polymerization temperature. Compared with that of ethylene homopolymer, the branching degree of the copolymers prepared by the copolymerization of ethylene with 1-hexene or 1-octene increased, whereas the molecular weight, density, T _m, and catalyst activity decreased. However, compared with those of the homopolymer of 1-hexene or 1-octene, the copolymer density, T _m, and catalyst activity increased, whereas the branching degree declined.     

LLDPE synthesis via SiO2–Ga-supported zirconocene/MMAO catalyst

In this present study, the linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) was synthesized via ethylene/1-octene copolymerization with the zirconocene/MMAO catalyst by in situ impregnation of different silica (SiO₂) supports. The SiO₂ supports used were small-pored (SP) and large-pored (LP) sizes with and without Ga modification. It was found that the SP-SiO₂ support exhibited higher polymerization activity (～1.5 times) than that obtained from the LP-SiO₂ one. This can be attributed to the lower amount of MMAO being present inside the SP-SiO₂ support resulting in higher content of MMAO at the external surface. The higher activity in ethylene/1-octene copolymerization was also found with the supported catalyst having Ga modification onto both SP-and LP-SiO₂ supports_. The results demonstrated that the introduction of Ga may improve ability of supports to immobilize metallocene catalyst. Based on ¹³C NMR measurement, it indicated that all synthesized polymers were typical LLDPE having random distribution of comonomer.     

Effect of nano-SiO2 particle size on the formation of LLDPE/SiO2 nanocomposite synthesized via the in situ polymerization with metallocene catalyst

Here, we revealed the effect of particle size of the nanoscale SiO₂ on catalytic and characteristic properties of LLDPE/nano-SiO₂ composites synthesized via the in situ polymerization with a zirconocene/MAO catalyst. In the experiment, SiO₂ (10 and 15 nm) was first impregnated with MAO. Then, copolymerization of ethylene/1-hexene was performed in the presence of nano-SiO₂/MAO to produce LLDPE/nano-SiO₂ composites. It was found that the larger particle exhibited higher polymerization activity due to fewer interactions between SiO₂ and MAO. The larger particle also rendered higher insertion of 1-hexene leading to decreased melting temperature (T_m). There was no significant change in the LLDPE molecular structure by means of ¹³C NMR.     

Effects of Ti oxidation state on ethylene, 1-hexene comonomer polymerization by MgCl<Subscript>2</Subscript>-supported Ziegler–Natta catalysts

In this study, the influences of the Ti oxidation state on the catalytic properties of MgCl₂-supported Ziegler–Natta catalysts in ethylene homo- and co-polymerization with 1-hexene were investigated. Three catalysts having different Ti oxidation states were synthesized by milling TiCl₄, TiCl₃, or TiCl₂ together with MgCl₂. With these catalysts having different Ti oxidation states, the polymerization conditions such as the Al concentration, temperature, and 1-hexene concentration were varied to figure out their catalytic abilities in ethylene homo- and co-polymerization. The Ti oxidation state affected the catalyst activity largely, having unique dependences on the polymerization conditions. A higher oxidation state led to a higher activity, slightly larger comonomer incorporation, and lower molecular weight as well as its narrower distribution. However, rough characteristics of copolymers were similar among the different Ti oxidation states.     

Ethylene polymerization over a nano-sized silica supported Cp2ZrCl2/MAO catalyst

Nano-sized and micro-sized silica particles were used to support Cp₂ZrCl₂/MAO catalyst for ethylene polymerization. Nano-sized catalyst exhibited much better ethylene polymerization activity than micro-sized catalyst. At the optimum temperature of 60 °C, nano-sized catalyst’s activity was 4.35 times the micro-sized catalyst’s activity, which was attributed to the large specific external surface area, the absence of internal diffusion resistance, and the better active site dispersion for the nano-sized catalyst. Polymers produced were characterized with SEM, XRD, DSC, and densimeter. SEM indicated that the resulting polymer morphology contained discrete tiny particles and thin long fiberous interlamellar links.     

Synthesis and characterization of ethylene-1-hexene copolymers using homogeneous Ziegler-Natta catalysts

Summary This study investigated the copolymerization of ethylene with 1-hexene using the homogeneous Et[Ind]₂ZrCl₂ and [Ind]₂ZrCl₂ catalysts. The Et[Ind]₂ZrCl₂ catalyst gave a higher catalytic activity than the [Ind]₂ZrCl₂ and also showed a better incorporation of 1-hexene for the same comonomer concentration in the feed. Thermal analysis (DSC) and viscosity measurements showed that an increase of the 1-hexene incorporated in the copolymer results in a decrease of the melting point, crystallinity and molecular weight of the polymer formed. The reactivity ratios for ethylene and 1-hexene confirmed the more successful incorporation of the comonomer for the polymerization catalyzed by Et[Ind]₂ZrCl₂.     

限定几何构型茂金属催化剂催化乙烯/1-己烯共聚研究

以自制的限定几何构型茂金属催化剂为主催化剂,甲基铝氧烷为助催化剂,对乙烯/1-己烯共聚性能进行研究,考察溶剂、Al与Zr物质的量比、聚合温度、聚合压力和共聚单体浓度等工艺条件对催化剂活性以及聚合物性能的影响。确定乙烯/1-己烯共聚合的工艺条件为:以正庚烷为溶剂,Al与Zr物质的量比为700~1 000,聚合温度(100~120)℃,聚合压力(1.2~2.0)MPa,优选1-己烯浓度为(0.8~1.8)mol·L~(-1)。     

Rates and product properties of polyethylene produced by copolymerization of 1-hexene and ethylene in the gas phase with (n-BuCp)2ZrCl2 on supports with different pore sizes

The effects of catalyst support pore size and reaction conditions (T=40-100 °C; ethylene pressure=1.4 MPa; 1-hexene concentration=0-47 mol/m³) on gas-phase polymerization rates and product properties were studied. Catalysts were prepared by impregnation of mesoporous molecular sieves (pore sizes of 2.5-20 nm) with methylaluminoxane and (n-BuCp)₂ZrCl₂. Temperature rising elution fractionation, differential scanning calorimetry and size exclusion chromatography were used to characterize the products. The results showed that these catalysts contained multiple types of catalytic sites and that the types of sites were a strong function of the support pore size. Ethylene polymerization and 1-hexene incorporation rates were strong functions of support pore size, 1-hexene concentration, and temperature. Large-pored catalysts had higher 1-hexene incorporation rates and the rate of 1-hexene incorporation was a function of polymerization time. Highest polymerization rates were obtained at 80 °C and 1-hexene concentration of 4-12 mol/m³; high 1-hexene concentrations resulted in large decreases in polymerization rates.     

Copolymerization of ethylene and 1-octadecene with the Cp2ZrCl2/MAO and Cp2HfCl2/MAO catalyst systems

Summary The comparison of the copolymers obtained with the Cp₂ZrCl₂/MAO and Cp₂HfCl₂/MAO catalyst systems showed that the catalyst having hafnocene was much more reactive towards 1-octadecene than zirconocene. The comonomer concentration had to be three times higher in the zirconocene copolymerization than in the hafnocene copolymerization when the level of 6 mol-% was reached. Although the hafnocene catalyst was more reactive towards 1-octadecene, the molecular weights were higher than in the copolymers obtained with the zirconocene catalyst.The total activity of the zirconocene was 10 times higher than with the hafnocene catalyst. With the zirconocene catalyst the activity towards ethylene was constantly increasing by increasing the comonomer concentration but stayed nearly constant with the hafnocene catalyst. It seemed that there is no rate enhancement effect upon comonomer addition with the hafnocene catalyst.     

With different structure ligands heterogeneous Ziegler-Natta catalysts for the preparation of copolymer of ethylene and 1-octene with high comonomer incorporation

Comparison with the conventional Ziegler-Natta catalyst TiCl₄/MgCl₂ (I), the modified supported Ziegler-Natta catalysts (iso-PentylO)TiCl₃/MgCl₂ (II) and (BzO)TiCl₃/MgCl₂ (III) were prepared as efficient catalysts for copolymerization of ethylene with 1-octene. The complexes (II) and (III) were desirable for the production of random ethylene/1-octene copolymers coupled with higher molecular weight, higher comonomer incorporation within copolymer chain and good yield even at high temperature 80 ^°C and fairly low Al/Ti molar ratio of 100. The effects of catalysts ligands, Al/Ti molar ratio, polymerization temperature, as well as concentration of 1-octene on the catalytic activity, molecular weight and microstructure of the copolymer were investigated in detail. The structure and properties of the copolymers were characterized with ¹³C NMR, GPC, DSC and WAXD. The kinetic results also indicate that these catalysts (II) and (III) show higher catalytic activity and the produced polymers feature higher molecular weight, because of lower ratio of K_trm/K_p and K_tra/K_p, and higher ratio of K_tra/K_trm which indicates that chain transfer to cocatalyst is predominant.     

Rheological,thermal and crystallisation properties of ethylene,propylene and α-olefin copolymers. I Rheological properties

Abstract

A series of random ethylene, propylene/1-butene, 1-pentene, 1-hexene, 1-heptene, 1-octene copolymers, ethylene and propylene homopolymers were prepared and investigated. The rheological properties (steady state and dynamic shear viscosity, creep compliance and plateau modulus), of copolymer samples with different co-unit content and molecular masses were determined and compared with the properties of homopolymers. The effects of the length of counit and the comonomer content were investigated. The copolymers exhibited similar rheological properties to the homopolymer but they have a lower shear viscosity, normal viscosity, higher steady state creep compliance and smaller plateau modulus values. The effect of comonomer content was evaluated on the bases of free volume theory.     

Comonomer enhancement effect of 1-hexene in ethylene copolymerization catalyzed over MgCl2/THF/TiCl4 catalysts

Homo- and copolymerization of ethylene were performed by using a catalyst system composed of TiCl₄/THF/MgCl₂ complex activated with AlEt₃ at 70°C and 3 atm. To investigate the effect of the compositional difference of the catalyst on the rates of homo- and copolymerization and on the reactivity in ethylene–hexene copolymerization, a series of six catalysts with different compositions (Mg/Ti = 0.4–16.5) were prepared by coprecipitation. The catalytic activity in ethylene polymerization increased sharply with the Mg/Ti ratio from 21 (Mg/Ti = 0.4) to 1477 kg PE/g-Ti h (Mg/Ti = 16.5). The activity in copolymerization with 1-hexene also increased with Mg/Ti ratio. The values of r₁ were 120, regardless of Mg/Ti ratios within the experimental error range. Enhancement of the polymerization rate by the addition of 1-hexene in the reaction medium was observed only for the catalysts of low Mg/Ti ratio. This unusual effect of 1-hexene on the polymerization rate was explained by chemical and physical processes that occurred during polymerization. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Copolymerization of ethylene/5‐ethylidene‐2‐norbornene with bis (2‐phenylindenyl) zirconium dichloride catalyst: I. Optimization of the operating conditions by response surface methodology

In this study, the copolymerization of ethylene with nonconjugated diene (5‐ethylidene‐2‐norbornene) was carried out with a bis(2‐PhInd) ZrCl₂ metallocene catalyst. Some polymerization factors that were considered affective on the catalyst activity, including comonomer content in the feed, ethylene pressure, and polymerization temperature, were investigated via response surface methodology to determine the optimum polymerization conditions. We found that the comonomer content in the feedstock had no enormous effect on the catalyst activity depression. Also, the polymerization temperature increment through the scrutinized range decreased the copolymerization activity. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Quarterpolymerizations of Ethene/Propene/Hexene/ Ethylidenenorbornene and Ethene/Propene/Octene/ Ethylidenenorbornene with [Me2C(3-MeCp)(Flu)]ZrCl2 / MAO

Summary Quarterpolymerizations of ethene/propene/hexene/ethylidenenorbornene and ethene/propene/octene/ethylidenenorbornene were carried out using the catalytic system [Me₂C(3-MeCp)(Flu)]ZrCl₂ / MAO to determine whether it is possible to lower the glass transition temperature of an EPDM. The influence of the quartermonomer on the polymerization activity and on the product properties, such as the incorporation rates of the three other monomers, the molar mass and molar mass distribution of the polymer were looked at. It was found that the activity is decreased using 1-hexene on the one hand and 1-octene on the other hand as quartermonomer with the effect being more distinct using the former. Both 1-hexene and 1-octene are incorporated to the detriment of propene and ENB, the reduction of the ENB content being more distinct. The molar masses of the polymers are not affected by the substitution of these two monomers by the quartermonomer. The glass transition temperature, however, using 1-hexene or 1-octene, was reduced - in the case of the latter by more than 10 °C from −50 to −62 °C. Received: 10 May 2000/Revised version: 19 October 2000/Accepted: 27 November 2000     

Polymerization of olefins through heterogeneous catalysis. XIV. The influence of temperature in the solution copolymerization of ethylene

The influence of temperature variation on the kinetics and the polymer properties in the homo- and copolymerization of ethylene in a solution reactor is discussed. The Polymerization is conducted in a semibatch mode at 320 Psig total reactor pressure for 10 min polymerization time. Temperature variations in the range 145–200°C in both home-and copolymerization of ethylene with 1-octene shows that the highest catalyst yield was obtained at temperature of 165–175°C. At the optimal temperature, a high initial maximum in the rate of ethylene consumption is attained in a few seconds followed by a relatively slow decay when compared with polymerization conducted at higher temperatures. Polymerization at temperatures ≥ 185°C resulted in a lower peak in the consumption rate of ethylene accompanied by a rapid decay with time. In the case of ethylene/1-Octene copolymerization, a rather low comonomer incorporation level is obtained at the conditions employed; the 1-octene incorporated was only 0.2–0.7 mol %. Higher M_w values, of about 350,000 at 145°C, are obtained in homopolymerization in comparison to M_w values obtained in copolymerization, of about 195,000 at the same temperature. Over the temperature range of 145–200°C, both M_w and M_n values vary by about 40%. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Study of the effect of the monomer pressure on the copolymerization of ethylene with 1-hexene

The effect of ethylene pressure on the copolymerization of ethylene with 1-hexene was studied. The results show an increasing of productivities (g of polymer/n_Zr h) with pressure. This tendency was not observed for the activity (g of polymer/n_Zr h bar) that decreases when pressure is raised. When varing the pressure, the characteristics and properties of the formed copolymers are in accordance with the expectation for changes in the monomer concentration; increasing the pressure causes a decrease in comonomer incorporation. At higher ethylene pressure, the polymer is more crystalline due to less incorporation of 1-hexene and the molecular weight is higher. The density of the copolymers also decreases with comonomer incorporation into the copolymer © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 64: 2567–2574, 1997     

Crystallization analysis fractionation of ethene/1-hexene copolymers made with the MAO-activated dual-site (1,2,4-Me3Cp)2ZrCl2 and (Me5Cp)2ZrCl2 system

Different poly(ethene-co-1-hexene) samples with varying amounts of 1-hexene were characterized by crystallization analysis fractionation (Crystaf). The samples were synthesized with (1,2,4-Me₃Cp)₂ZrCl₂, (Me₅Cp)₂ZrCl₂, and a mixture of these two catalysts in a 1:1 molar ratio. In addition, preparative Crystaf was used to fractionate some of the samples made with the catalyst mixture into 1-hexene-rich and 1-hexene-poor fractions. These fractions were characterized by Crystaf, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and compared with copolymers made under similar conditions using the individual catalysts. Both (1,2,4-Me₃Cp)₂ZrCl₂ and (Me₅Cp)₂ZrCl₂ produced copolymers with unimodal distribution of short chain branches (SCBD), as expected for single-site catalysts. The catalyst mixture produced copolymers with bimodal SCBDs when 0.38 mol/l or higher concentrations of 1-hexene were used. The high temperature peak results from crystallization of polymer chains with few comonomer units, and these are attributed to (Me₅Cp)₂ZrCl₂. The low temperature peak results from crystallization of polymer chains made by (1,2,4-Me₃Cp)₂ZrCl₂, and these chains contain many comonomer units. Direct evidence for relative activity enhancement of the (Me₅Cp)₂ZrCl₂ catalyst in the dual-site system was observed.     

Polymerization of ethylene and ethylene/1-hexene over Ziegler–Natta/metallocene hybrid catalysts supported on MgCl2 prepared by a recrystallization method

MgCl₂ for use as a catalyst support was prepared by dissolution in methanol and recrystallization in n-decane, followed by vacuum-drying at 2,000 rpm. The prepared support was modified by treatment with alkylaluminum compounds. The activity profile of ethylene over the supported catalysts persisted for periods up to 1 h during the polymerization. The prepared Ziegler–Natta/metallocene hybrid catalysts exhibited the characteristics of both metallocene and Ziegler–Natta catalysts. The polymer produced by the hybrid catalysts gave bimodal peaks in differential scanning calorimetry analysis for ethylene and ethylene/1-hexene polymerization, suggesting that the polymer was composed of two different lamellar structures that were polymerized by each catalyst. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 70: 1707–1715, 1998     

The effect of SiO2 porosity on activity profiles and comonomer incorporation in slurry ethylene/butene‐1 polymerization by (SiO2/MgCl2/TEOS/TiCl4) catalyst system

To investigate the influence of support porosity parameters e.g., average pore volume (APV), pore diameter (PD), and pore surface area distribution (PSAD) on activity‐profile of catalyst and comonomer incorporation, a series of silica‐supports with different porosity were prepared through sol–gel method and used to synthesize corresponding (SiO₂/MgCl₂/TEOS/TiCl₄) catalysts. Polymerization of ethylene/butene‐1 showed that increasing of APV from 0.75 to 2.2 cm³ g increase initial activity from 120 to 400 (g_poly/g_cat.bar.hr) followed by appearance of secondary peaks in activity‐profile which could be attributed to the variation of PSAD. It is found that the effect of support in polymerization is a complicated issue which depends not only on the porosity parameters also on the comonomer concentration. The catalyst with PD of 300 Å gives higher comonomer incorporation and polymers with 15–20% lower crystallinity in contrast to catalyst with PD of 100 Å. Porosity effect was quantitatively studied by modifying of conventional Z‐N catalyst polymerization mechanism through introducing fragmentation term to achieve a new tool in designing and developing of polyolefin catalysts. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011