KINETICS OF POLYMERIZATION OF 1-OCTENE WITH MGCL2-SUPPORTED TICL4 CATALYSTS

A number of TiCl4 catalysts supported on MgCl2 which was activated by the recrystallization method using different alcohols were prepared wi th ethyl benzoate or dibutyl phthalate as the internal electron donor. All the catalysts were characterized by BET, x-ray diffraction, and h ydrolysis-GC analysis. Kinetics of polymerization of 1-octene was stud ied with three of the above catalysts (having different internal elect ron donors) activated by AlEt3. The rate of polymerization increased l inearly with increasing temperature, and catalyst and monomer concentr ations. From the Arrhenius plot, the overall activation energies of po lymerization were determined and the dependence of rate on the AlEt3 c oncentration could be explained by the Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism. C-13-NMR was used to study the effect of internal electron donors on the % isotacticity of poly(1-octene). The catalytic activities of all the catalysts were compared in 1-octene polymerization. (C) 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.