Olefin–Styrene Copolymers

Abstract

Abstract:In this review are reported some of the most relevant achievements in the chemistry of the ethylene-styrene copolymerization and in the characterization of the copolymer materials. Focus is put on the relationship between the structure of the catalyst and that of the obtained copolymer. On the other hand, the wide variety of copolymer architecture is related to the properties of the material and to the potential utility.

Thin‐film nanostructure and polymer architecture in semicrystalline syndiotactic poly(p‐methylstyrene)–(cis‐1,4‐polybutadiene) multiblock copolymers

“…Thin films of samples 1–5 were obtained by spin‐coating at room temperature of chloroform polymer solutions (30 μL, 0.2 wt%); the phase segregation in these samples was investigated using tapping mode AFM (TM‐AFM). This technique provides information about the topography of the sample as well as of the dislocation of the polymer phases . The height micrographs showed smooth surfaces (Fig.…”

“…This technique provides information about the topography of the sample as well as of the dislocation of the polymer phases. 24,29,[35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42] The height micrographs showed smooth surfaces (Fig. 2) while the TM-AFM phase images (Fig.…”

Homopolymerization of styrenic monomers and their copolymerization with ethylene using group 4 non‐metallocene catalysts

“…That aspect was described inter alia in review papers. [2,4,5] As a result, materials with a broad range of properties can be obtained that can be converted into products with various possible applications, among them are packaging, foams, films, sheets, compatibilizers for PS/PE blends, bitumen modifiers and others. [5][6][7] It should, however, be mentioned that the copolymerization process of ethylene and styrene is much harder to conduct than that of ethylene and 1-olefin due to highly different reactivities of those monomers toward most catalysts.…”

“…[5][6][7] It should, however, be mentioned that the copolymerization process of ethylene and styrene is much harder to conduct than that of ethylene and 1-olefin due to highly different reactivities of those monomers toward most catalysts. [4,6,8] Also, the styrene homopolymer is frequently produced as a by-product in the presence of some catalysts, probably due to multiple active sites. [3,9] The copolymerization reactions involve metallocene catalysts, primarily half-titanocenes including half-titanocenes modified with anionic ligand(s), [5,[10][11][12][13][14][15] constrained geometry catalysts (CGC) [3,5,[16][17][18] which turn out very efficient when one is going to incorporate styrene molecules into the polymer macromolecules, and non-metallocene catalyst which are based on bis(phenolate) complexes.…”

High Conversion of Styrene, Ethylene, and Hydrogen to Linear Monoalkylbenzenes

“…A recent paper [ 6 ] proposed the homogeneous Ziegler-Natta catalysis as a tool for the direct synthesis of LABs from commodities, through a dramatically simplified process when compared to those generally used. In light of the knowledge of styrene-ethylene reactivity [ 7 ], a synthesis that takes together styrene, ethylene, and hydrogen has been reported, resulting in a mixture of linear 1-alkylbenzenes with an average length of the aliphatic tail of around 14 carbon atoms. This was the result of a careful selection among the potential coordination frameworks of the catalytic metal, in order to avoid the formation of branches that are detrimental for the biodegradability of the detergents and minimize the yield of by-products such as alpha-omega DiPhenyl Alkanes (α–ω DPA), with the yields reported and overall process seeming unsuitable for a practical application.…”