METALLOCENE-CATALYZED ETHENE STYRENE COPOLYMERIZATION AND TERPOLYMERIZATION WITH OLEFINIC TERMONOMERS/

Ethene was co-and terpolymerized with 1-octene and styrene using the m ethylalumoxane (MAO) activated halfsandwich metallocene Me2Si(Me4Cp)(N -t.-butyl)TiCl2 (Cp = cyclopentadienyl, Me = methyl) as catalyst. At t emperatures of 40 and 60 degrees C styrene concentration was varied in order to investigate the influence of the comonomers. Despite decreas ing the overall activity with respect to ethene/1-octene copolymerizat ion, polymerization activity was found to exibit a relative maximum wi th increasing styrene concentration. An explanation is given taking tw o different comonomer effects into account. Low styrene concentration promoted higher 1-octene incorporation compared to ethene/1-octene cop olymerization but significantly lowered the molecular weight of the te rpolymers. With constant ethene and 1-octene concentration it was poss ible to produce ethene/1-octene/styrene terpolymers with styrene conte nt varying from 0 to 25 mol % and 1-octene content varying from 8 to 2 1 mol %. All terpolymers were amorphous. With constant ethene content it was found possible to vary their glass transition temperature with 1-octene/styrene molar ratio incorporated in the terpolymer. C-13-NMR spectroscopic microstructure analysis showed that no styrene/1-octene sequences were found in the terpolymer backbone. Furthermore terpolyme rizations were conducted successfully incorporating norbornene, 1,5-he xadiene and propene as monomers in terpolymertization with ethene and styrene. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.