Coal Tar Derived Metallocene Catalyst for Polymerization of 1-Decene into Low-viscosity Poly-α-Olefin Lubricating Base Oil

The production of poly-α-olefins(PAOs)has attracted attention due to their excellent viscosity-temperature dependence,wear characteristics,oxidative properties,and high thermal stability.In this study,indene extracted during coal tar refining was used as a raw material to synthesize a bis(indenyl)zirconium dichloride metallocene catalyst.A PAO with low viscosity and a high viscosity index was produced via the oligomerization of 1-decene in the presence of both the prepared metallocene and a methylaluminoxane(MAO)co-catalyst.Notably,the effects of different synthesis reaction parameters,such as Al:Zr ratio,amount of catalyst,and reaction temperature,on the conversion ratio and product selectivity were investigated in detail.The produced PAO was thoroughly characterized using Fourier-transform infrared,^(13)C,and^(1)H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopies;gas chromatography;and viscosity measurements.At 70℃,the metallocene catalyst created more stable active sites.In addition,the alkylation effect of MAO was noticeable.Interestingly,the obtained catalysis results demonstrated that a high conversion ratio of~93%was achieved at a low reaction temperature of 70℃,with a catalyst dosage of 0.0848 mmol and Al:Zr ratio of 8.48mmol:0.0848mmol.Moreover,under these optimal conditions,the kinematic viscosity of PAO was 4.25 mm2/s at 100℃,and the viscosity index was 139,indicating good viscosity-temperature properties.

Mechanism Study of BF_(3)/n-Butanol-catalyzed 1-Decene Oligomerization Reaction

The active catalysts of the BF_(3)/n-C_(4)H_(9)OH-catalyzed 1-decene oligomerization reaction,as well as the distribution of the reaction products,was investigated by molecular simulation.The calculation results show that(BF_(3))_(2)·n-C_(4)H_(9)OH catalyzes the 1-decene oligomerization reaction with higher activity compared to BF_(3)·n-C_(4)H_(9)OH,which is the most catalytically active substance in the BF_(3)/n-C_(4)H_(9)OH catalyst system.The reaction energy barriers and heats of reaction of chain initiation,chain growth,and chain termination in BF_(3)/n-C_(4)H_(9)OH-catalyzed 1-decene oligomerization are calculated to reveal the product distribution.The calculation results show that the contents of the oligomerization reaction products in descending order are trimer,tetramer,pentamer,and dimer.The calculated results were consistent with the experimentally obtained product distribution.