The copolymerization of propylene and vinyl chloride with the Ziegler‐Natta catalysts: Infrared spectra and the structure of copolymers

Abstract

This work is devoted to the infrared study of the products of the copolymerization of propylene and vinyl chloride with the modified TiCl3–Et3Al catalyst. Thus, in our view the data given demonstrates two important features of the copolymerization process of propylene and vinyl chloride on the modified Ziegler‐Natta catalyst: 1. that real copolymerization takes place in the case of this monomer pair; and 2. that copolymerization procedes on the stereospecific active sites of the heterogeneous catalyst, i.e., on the same sites which are responsible for the stereoregular polymerization of olefines. Infrared study allows one to estimate the distribution of the propylene units in the copolymers. The distribution is very typical of the random copolymers obtained with the stereospecific catalysts.