Copolymerization of ethylene and 2-vinylnaphtalene with titanium and zirconium catalysts

Copolymerization of ethylene and 2-vinylnaphtalene (VN) has been investigated with dimethylsilylene(tetramethylcyclopentadienyl)(N-tert-butyl)titanium dichloride (1) and rac-isopropylidenebis(indenyl)zirconium dichloride (2) using methylaluminoxane as a cocatalyst. The copolymerization gave the corresponding copolymer in good yield. The catalyst 1 showed higher incorporation of VN than the catalyst 2. Thermal properties of the resulting copolymers were investigated by DSC in comparison with those of poly(ethylene-co-styrene), and poly(ethylene-co-VN) showed higher T_g than poly(ethylene-co-styrene).