COPOLYMERIZATION OF PROPYLENE WITH HINDERED PIPERIDINE MONOMER OVER A HIGH ACTIVITY SUPPORTED ZIEGLER-NATTA CATALYST

Copolymerization of propylene and hindered piperidine monomers was carried out over a high activity supported Ziegler-Natta catalyst, using Al(C2H5)(3) as cocatalyst. Factors which affect the copolymerization were studied, The copolymers exhibited high light stability without adding extra light stabilizers. A self-stabilized polypropylene was prepared.

Study of a Novel Fourth-generation Supported Ziegler-Natta Catalyst for Propylene Polymerization: Relationship between Catalyst Structure and Polymerization Properties

This article presents a detailed structural study of a new spherical Mg Cl2-supported Ti Cl4 Ziegler-Natta catalyst for isotactic propylene polymerization, and researches on the relationship between catalyst structure and polymer properties. The spherical support with the chemical composition of CH3CH2 OMg OCH(CH2Cl)2 has been synthesized from a new dispersion system and is used as the supporting material to prepare Ziegler-Natta catalyst. The XRD analysis indicates that the catalyst is fully activated with δ-Mg Cl2 in the active catalyst. The far-IR spectrometric results confirm again the presence of δ-Mg Cl2 in the active catalyst. Textural property of the active catalyst exhibits high surface area coupled with high porosity. The high activity in propylene polymerization is mainly ascribed to the full activation and the porous structure of the catalyst. Scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectrometer mapping results indicate a uniform titanium distribution throughout the catalyst particles. Particle size analysis shows that the catalyst has a narrow particle size distribution. The perfect spherical shape, uniform titanium distribution and narrow particle size distribution of the catalyst confirm the advantage of polymer particles production with less fines. The solid state 13 C NMR and mid-IR spectroscopic analyses indicate that there exists strong complexation between diisobutyl phthalate and Mg Cl2, which leads to the high isotacticity of polypropylene.

POISONING OF ACTIVE SITES ON ZIEGLER-NATTA CATALYST FOR PROPYLENE POLYMERIZATION

The effects of poisoning materials on catalytic activity and isospecificity of the supported Ziegler-Natta catalyst were investigated.A minor amount of simple structure of Lewis base,i.e.,methanol,acetone,ethyl acetate,was introduced into the catalyst slurry for partial poisoning catalytic active centers.It was found that the variations in deactivation power were in the order of methanol>acetone>ethyl acetate.The kinetic investigation via stopped-flow polymerization showed that poisoning compounds cau...

Novel MgCl2-supported Catalysts Containing Succinate Donors for Propylene Polymerization

A novel MgCl2-supported Ziegler-Natta catalyst containing diethyl diisopropylsuccinate donor was prepared and propylene polymerizations with the combination of such catalyst and four external donors were investigated in detail. The catalyst was compared with a commercial one with phthalate as internal donor in terms of catalytic activity, hydrogen sensitivity and stereospecificity in propylene polymerization. The molecular weight,molecular weight distribution and microstructure of the produced polypropylenes were compared also. It was found that the novel catalyst containing succinate internal donor showed higher activity and higher stereospecificity than those with phthalate as internal donor. Consequently, polypropylenes obtained by the succinate-based catalyst showed high molecular weight, high melting temperature, high isotactic index and broad molecular weight distribution than those obtained with the commercial catalyst.

Effect of Polymerization Temperature on Propylene Polymerization with C_s-symmetric Metallocene Catalyst

A novel highly active C-s-symmetric metallocene catalyst namely: meso-dimethylsilylbis (2,4,6-trimethyl-1 -indenyl)zirconium dichloride is presented. The effect of polymerization temperature (0-70 degrees C) on the catalyst performance for propylene polymerization has been investigated. This catalyst shows very high activity at 50 degrees C which is higher than the activity of the racemic analogue, and the resulted polypropylene is amorphous in nature with isotactic pentad content [mmmm] of 12 %.

Dynamics and Predictive Control of Gas Phase Propylene Polymerization in Fluidized Bed Reactors

A two-phase dynamic model, describing gas phase propylene polymerization in a fluidized bed reactor, was used to explore the dynamic behavior and process control of the polypropylene production rate and reactor temperature. The open loop analysis revealed the nonlinear behavior of the polypropylene fluidized bed reactor, jus- tifying the use of an advanced control algorithm for efficient control of the process variables. In this case, a central- ized model predictive control （MPC） technique was implemented to control the polypropylene production rate and reactor temperature by manipulating the catalyst feed rate and cooling water flow rate respectively. The corre- sponding MPC controller was able to track changes in the setpoint smoothly for the reactor temperature and pro- duction rate while the setpoint tracking of the conventional proportional-integral （PI） controller was oscillatory with overshoots and obvious interaction between the reactor temperature and production rate loops. The MPC was able to produce controller moves which not only were well within the specified input constraints for both control vari- ables, but also non-aggressive and sufficiently smooth for practical implementations. Furthermore, the closed loop dynamic simulations indicated that the speed of rejecting the process disturbances for the MPC controller were also acceotable for both controlled variables.

Bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)phenylamines as Internal Donors for Ziegler-Natta Polymerization Catalysts

Several bis（trifluoromethylsulfonyl）phenylamines have been synthesized and used as internal donors for the preparation of heterogeneous Ziegler-Natta catalysts for propylene polymerization. These new cata- lysts are highly active and stereospecific in combination with an external donor for the polymerization of propylene. The activity of these catalysts is dramatically influenced by the electronic capability of the phenyl substituents on the sulfonyl phenylamines. Therefore, the performances of the catalysts can be modified by adjusting the electronic property of the phenyl substituents of the sulfonyl phenylamines.

STUDY ON 1-HEXENE POLYMERIZATION BASED ON ZIEGLER-NATTA CATALYSTS WITH DOPED SUPPORT

A series of Ti/Mg supported catalysts are prepared by using ball-milled mixtures of MgCl2-ethanol adducts and NaCl as supports, and 1-hexene polymerizations catalyzed by the novel catalysts are studied. It is found that the molecular weight distribution of poly(1-hexene) becomes apparently narrower when catalysts with doped supports are used, indicating that changing the structure of the support is an effective way to regulate the active center distribution of heterogeneous Ziegler-Natta catalyst.

Propylene Polymerization Catalyzed by Bis(R_3-indenyl) Zirconium Bichloride/Aluminoxane──Synthesis of Metallocenes and Influence ofSolvent Polarity on Polymerization

Three unbridged metallocenes, bis(2,4,7-Me3-indenyl)zirconium dichloride(1) , bis(2-Me-4, 7-Et2-indenyl)zirconium dichloride (2) and bis (2, 4, 6-Me3-indenyl) zirconium dichloride (3) were synthesized. The effect of solvent polarity on propylene polymerization catalyzed by the metallocenes in the presence of methylaluminoxane(MAO) and triisobutylaluminum(TIBA) was investigated in the toluene/CH2Cl2 mixed solvent. Changing the solvent polarity was found to influence the catalytic activity, polymer molecular weight and stereospecificity of the catalysts. The changes in the position of the substituents on the ligand caused the different responses of the catalyst to the changes in solvent polarity. The isotactic stereosequence of polypropylene was found to increase with the increase in the polarity of the reaction medium.

Regioselectivity Study on Propylene Polymerization Catalyzed by Neutral Salicyladiminato Pd(II) Model Complex with DFT Method

Many attempts have been made to control the regioselectivity for olefin poly- merization by varying the structures of ligands in catalysts. The regioselectivity of propylene polymerization was investigated by replacing a nitrogen atom in the Pd(II) diimine catalyst with an oxygen atom from density functional theory method at the B3LYP/LANL2DZ level. The results show that the 1,2-insertion becomes a rival mechanism to the 2,1-insertion when the nitrogen atom is replaced by the oxygen atom leading to an asymmetric environment in the catalyst, and that the steric effect in the asymmetrical catalyst plays an important part in the polymerization. The insertion barrier from 2-O is much higher than that from 2-N. A pyramid transition state was characterized for the catalyst to convert 2-O back to 2-N through internal rotation. The propylene prefers to coordinate at the opposite side of O in the catalyst. This is the driving force for the internal rotation. The results are significant for isotactic and syndiotactic polymerization.

EFFECTS OF REACTION AND PROCESSING PARAMETERS ON ETHYLENE POLYMERIZATION USING DIFFERENT ZIEGLER-NATTA CATALYSTS:EMPLOYMENT OF TAGUCHI EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN AND RESPONSE SURFACE METHOD

Different Ziegler-Natta catalysts were employed to polymerize ethylene. To investigate the influences of reaction parameters, namely Al/Ti molar ratio, hydrogen and processing parameters, i.e. ethylene pressure and temperature, a Taguchi experimental design was worked out. An L27 orthogonal array was chosen to take the above-mentioned parameters and relevant interactions into account. Response surface method was the tool used to analyze the experimental design results. Al/Ti, ethylene pressure and temperature were selected as experimental design factors, and catalyst activity and polymerization yield were the response parameters. Increasing pressure, due to an increment in monomer accessibility, and rising Al/Ti, because of higher reduction in the catalysts, cause an increase in both polymerization yield and catalyst activity. Nonetheless, a higher temperature, thanks to reducing ethylene solubility in the slurry medium and partially catalyst destruction, lead to a reduction in both response parameters. A synergistic effect was also observed between temperature and pressure. All catalyst activities will reduce in the presence of hydrogen. Molecular weight also shows a decline in the presence of hydrogen as a transfer agent. However, the polydispersity index remains approximately intact. Using SEM, various morphologies, owing to different catalyst morphologies, were seen for the polyethylene.

Propylene Polymerization by TiCl_4 Supported on Mg(OEt)_2 Activating with Ethanol/CO_2 System

In the preparation of catalyst for propylene polymerization, the Mg(OEt) 2 support was activated with ethanol/CO 2 system followed by solidification, and treated with TiCl 4 in the presence of ethylbenzoate as an internal donor(ID). The chemical compositions of the activated support and the prepared catalyst were examined in detail. During the dissolution of Mg(OEt) 2 support in ethanol medium with CO 2 bubbling, the structure of support changed to magnesium hydrocarbyl carbonate, (CH 3CH 2O) 2- x Mg(O (C O) OCH 2CH 3) x ( x = 1,2). The content of carbonated CO 2 in the activated support was dependent on the heat treatment in the solidification of support. In the preparation procedure of polymerization catalyst, the activated support was treated with TiCl 4 so that the structure of support was converted to MgCl 2 with the incorporation of ID. The polymerization behavior of the pre-pared catalyst was also studied in the presence of phenyltriethoxysilane as an external donor.

Effects of Al(i-Bu)_3 on Propylene Polymerization and Copolymerization by rac-Me_2Si(Ind)_2ZrCl_2/MAO

The effects of adding Al(i-C_4H_9)_3 (TBA) to rac-Me2Si(Ind)2ZrCl2/ MAO catalyzed propylene-1-octene copolymerization were studied. At TBA /MAO (Al/AI mole ratio) of about 0.6, the polymerization activity was found to be much higher than the system without TBA. Increases of polymer molecular weight and 1-octene content from addition of TBA were also observed.

STUDY ON HIGHLY ACTIVE ZIEGLERNATTA CATALYSTS FOR POLYMERIZATION OF OLEFINS

In this paper, highly active Ziegler-Natta catalysts of MgCl_2 supported TiCl_4 for synthesis ofpolyolefins, using di-n-butyl phthalate (DNBP) as internal donor and diphenyl dimethoxyl silane(DPDMS) as external donor, have been prepared. The conditions controlling the treatment ofsupport were studied. The interactions of various components present in the catalysts and theirinfluences on catalytic performance were investigated. It is found that by using DNBP and DPDMSas internal and external donors together the polymer products with higher isotactic index can beobtained. Plausible structure model and mechanism were proposed.

Polymerization Mechanism of α-Linear Olefin

The density functional theory on the level of B3LYP/6-31G was empolyed to study the chain growth mechanism in polymerization process of α-linear olefin in TiCl3/AlEt2Cl catalytic system to synthesize drag reduction agent. Full parameter optimization without symmetry restrictions for reactants, products, the possible transition states, and intermediates was calculated. Vibration frequency was analyzed for all of stagnation points on the potential energy surface at the same theoretical level. The internal reaction coordinate was calculated from the transition states to reactants and products respectively. The results showed as flloes： （i） Coordination compounds were formed on the optimum configuration of TiCl3/AlEt2Cl.（ii） The transition states were formed. The energy di？erence between transition states and the coordination compounds was 40.687 kJ/mol. （iii） Double bond opened and Ti-C（4） bond fractured, and the polymerization was completed. The calculation results also showed that the chain growth mechanism did not essentially change with the increase of carbon atom number of α-linear olefin. From the relationship between polymerization activation energy and carbon atom number of the α-linear olefin, it can be seen that the α-linear olefin monomers with 6-10 carbon atoms had low activation energy and wide range. It was optimum to synthesize drag reduction agent by polymerization.

ADSORPTION OF TiCl_4 AND ELECTRON DONOR ON DEFECTIVE MgCl_2 SURFACES AND PROPYLENE POLYMERIZATION OVER ZIEGLER-NATTA CATALYST: A DFT STUDY

The formations of defective MgC12 surfaces, and subsequent adsorption of Ti species and electron donor, as well as propylene polymerization over the Ziegler-Natta catalyst have been investigated using density functional theory （DFT） method. Twelve possible support models of regular and defective MgC12 （110） and （100） surfaces were built. The individual adsorptions of titanium chlorides as mononuclear or dinuclear, and ethyl benzoate （EB） as electron donor, on these models were evaluated. The analysis of energies presented the cases of EB adsorption were generally more stable than titanium chlorides on both surfaces. Thus, EB as internal electron donor mainly prevented TIC14 from coordinating on the MgC12 surfaces where mostly non-stereospecific active sites could be formed. Exceptionally, A5 the site model with terminal Cl-vacancy on the MgC12 support, presented stronger adsorption of TiCl4 than that of EB on （110） surface. Since the TIC14 and ethyl benzoate （EB） would compete to adsorb on the support surface, it seems reasonable to assume that TIC14 might predominately occupy this site, which can act as the most plausible active site for propylene polymerization. The first insertion of propylene monomer into the A5 active site model showed that it exhibited good regioselectivity but poor stereospecificity in the absence of electron donor.

Deactivation Effect Caused by Catalyst-Cocatalyst Pre-contact in Propylene Polymerization with MgCl2-supported Ziegler-Natta Catalyst

Propylene slurry polymerization with a MgCl2-supported Ziegler-Natta catalyst containing internal electron donor was conducted after different durations of pre-contact of the catalyst with triethylaluminum cocatalyst. The number of active centers([C*]/[Ti])was determined by quenching the polymerization with 2-thiophenecarbonyl chloride and measuring sulfur content in the polymer. The pre-contact treatment caused selective deactivation of a part of active centers with low stereoselectivity and much lower activity in the initial stage of polymerization as compared with the polymerization run without the pre-contact stage. The active center concentration and polymerization activity decreased with prolonging of the pre-contact stage. The proportion of stereoselective active centers was increased by prolonging the pre-contact stage, so the isotacticity of produced polypropylene was enhanced. Release of active centers through catalyst particle fragmentation was significantly retarded, and the polymerization rate curve changed from decay type to induction type by the precontact treatment. In the induction period both non-stereoselective and stereoselective active centers were released and activated, resulting in gradual reduction of the polymer’s isotacticity in the first 5-10 min of polymerization. Selective deactivation of non-stereoselective active centers also took place in propylene polymerization using the catalyst without pre-contacting with the cocatalyst. In this case, the polymerization rate decayed with time after a short induction period of 2-5 min. Over reduction of the active center precursors with low stereoselectivity by triethylaluminum was considered as the reason for their deactivation during the pre-contact or the polymerization processes.

PROBING THE ROLES OF DIETHYLALUMINUM CHLORIDE IN PROPYLENE POLYMERIZATION WITH MgCl_2-SUPPORTED ZIEGLER-NATTA CATALYSTS

In this article, the effect of diethylaluminum chloride （DEAC） in propylene polymerization with MgC12-supported Ziegler-Natta catalyst was studied. Addition of DEAC in the catalyst system caused evident change in catalytic activity and polymer chain structure. The activity decrease in raising DEAC/Ti molar ratio from 0 to 2 is a result of depressed production of isotactic polypropylene chains. The number of active centers in fractions of each polymer sample was determined by quenching the polymerization with 2-thiophenecarbonyl chloride and fractionating the polymer into isotactic, medium- isotactic and atactic fractions. The number of active centers in isotactic fraction （[Ci＊]/[Ti]） was lowered by increasing DEAC/Ti molar ratio to 2, but further increasing the DEAC/Ti molar ratio to 20 caused marked increase of [Ci＊]/[Ti]. The number of active centers that produce atactic and medium-isotactic PP chains was less influenced by DEAC in the range of DEAC/Ti = 0-10, but increased when the DEAC/Ti molar ratio was further raised to 20. The propagation rate constant of Ci＊ （k^i） was evidently increased when DEAC/Ti molar ratio was raised from 0 to 5, but further increase in DEAC/Ti ratio caused gradual decrease in kpi. The complicated effect of DEAC on the polymerization kinetics, catalysis behaviors and polymer structure can be reasonably explained by adsorption of DEAC on the central metal of the active centers or on Mg atoms adjacent to the central metal

Study on the distribution of active centers in novel low Ti-loading MgCl2-supported Ziegler-Natta catalyst

Novel MgCl2-supported Ziegler-Natta (Z-N) catalysts prepared using a new one-pot ball milling method can effectively control the amounts of Ti-loading in the catalysts. Complex GPC data on polypropylene synthesized by these novel catalysts were analyzed using the method of fitting the molecular weight distribution (MWD) curves with a multiple Flory-Schulz function. It was found that multiple active centers exist in these novel catalysts. Detailed study of the effects of the Ti-loadings in the catalysts on the distribution of the active centers showed that the Ti-loadings in the novel MgCl2-supported Z-N catalysts might affect the proportion of each type of active centers; and might be the main factor responsible for the effect of the Ti-loadings on the microstructure, the molecular weight and molecular weight distribution width of the resultant polymer, the catalytic activity and polymerization kinetics.

COPOLYMERIZATION OF ETHYLENE AND PROPYLENE CATALYZED BY MAGNESIUM CHLORIDE SUPPORTED VANADIUM/TITANIUM BIMETALLIC ZIEGLER-NATTA CATALYSTS

Magnesium chloride supported vanadium/titanium bimetallic Ziegler-Natta catalysts with di-i-butyl phthalate as internal donor for copolymerization of ethylene and propylene were prepared. The effects of reaction temperature, ethylene/propylene molar ratio, aluminium/vanadium （Al/V） molar ratio and titanium/vanadium molar ratio on the catalytic activity were investigated. The molecular weight, molecular weight distribution, sequence composition and crystallinity of the products were measured by gel permeation chromatography, ^13C-NMR and differential scanning calorimetry analysis, respectively. In comparison to the vanadium and titanium catalysts, the bimetallic catalyst showed higher catalytic activity and better copolymerization performance. The obtained ethylene/propylene copolymers have high molecular weight （105）, broad molecular weight distribution, high propylene content with random or short blocked sequence structures （rErp = 1.919）, low melting temperatures and low crystallinities （Xc 〈 20%）.