| Abstract: | The catalytic activity in the polymerization of styrene has been examined using commercially available simple rare earth metal compounds such as Sm(OiPr)3, Sm(acac)3, Sm(OCOMe)3, SmI2(THF)2 or SmCl3 coupled with Et3Al or methylaluminoxane (MAO). Among these compounds, the Sm(OiPr)3/AlEt3 system shows the highest catalytic activity, especially in the presence of a minor amount of toluene at 60 °C. The random copolymerization of styrene with methyl methacrylate suggests that the present polymerization proceeds with a radical polymerization mechanism. (C5Me5)SmCl3Na(THF) and (C5Me5)SmCl3Li(THF) systems exhibit relatively low catalytic activity, even in the presence of AlEt3. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry |
