Highly efficient FeCl₃ doped Mg(OEt)₂/TiCl₄-based Ziegler–Natta catalysts for ethylene polymerization

Abstract

Seven Mg(OEt) 2 /FeCl 3 /SiCl 4 /TiCl 4 type procatalysts supported on Mg(OEt) 2 /FeCl 3 mixtures were prepared in order to unravel effect of Fe doping on the catalytic performance in ethylene polymerization. In polymerization experiments, the catalyst based on a support containing an optimum doping amount of 10 wt.% of FeCl 3 , i.e. C-F 10 -Si, exhibited an activity 2.4 times greater than that shown by the reference catalyst, C-M. The MW and bulk density of the produced polymers were increased, while the wax amount decreased using doped catalysts. In the next step, the copolymerization of ethylene with 1-hexene was carried out using C-M as reference and C-Fe 10 -Si as the most efficient procatalysts. In copolymerization experiments, C-Fe 10 -Si exhibited much higher activity and comonomer incorporation in comparison with reference catalyst. Finally, to shed light on possible interaction of TiCl 4 with doped and undoped catalysts, as well as their efficiency in ethylene polymerization, molecular simulation was performed. Energy results revealed that the doping does not alter significantly the capability of the Ti to insert ethylene monomer.

Different behaviors of metallocene and Ziegler–Natta catalysts in ethylene/1,5‐hexadiene copolymerization

“…However, the activity of the catalysts clearly increased on addition of comonomer due to the ‘comonomer effect’. This effect is a common phenomenon in which the polymerization rate is enhanced by the comonomer presence . A widely accepted explanation for such an effect is that incorporation of branching into the PE backbone reduces its crystallinity.…”

“…Conventional ZN and metallocene catalysts are the most popular catalytic systems for olefin (co)polymerizations . Each of these systems shows unique behavior in olefin/diene copolymerization.…”

Poly1‐hexene: New impact modifier in HIPS technology

“…Poly1‐hexene was prepared by polymerizing the 1‐hexene monomer in hexane in the presence of Mg(OEt) 2 /FeCl 3 /TiCl 4 /DNBP (dibutylphthalate) catalyst . The specifications of synthesized poly1‐hexene and polybutadiene that was purchased from Arak petrochemical (Iran) were summarized in Table .…”

New high impact polystyrene: Use of poly(1‐hexene) and poly(1‐hexene‐co‐hexadiene) as impact modifiers

“…Polybutadiene (PBR 1210s grade) was purchased from Shazand Petrochemical, Iran. Poly 1‐hexene and poly(hexene‐co‐hexadiene) were synthesized in our lab by using Mg(OEt) 2 /FeCl 3 /TiCl 4 /DNBP catalyst according to our recent study …”