Ethylene polymerization, with Lewis acid

Ethylene Polymerization with Lewis Acid Grafted Heterometallic Catalysts... 

The sterically encumbered R2 substituents give steric protection to the oxygen-donors that are attached to the metal centers from coordination with Lewis acids such as MAO, or from another molecule of the catalytically active cationic species, which are supposed to be highly electrophilic. The coordination increases steric congestion near the polymerization center, which at least hampers ethylene coordination to the metal. Even worse, it may cause catalyst decay by, for instance, loss of the ligand. 

Graft copolymers of nylon, protein, cellulose, starch, copolymers, or vinyl alcohol have been prepared by the reaction of ethylene oxide with these polymers. Graft copolymers are also produced when styrene is polymerized by Lewis acids in the presence of poly-p-methoxystyrene. The Merrifield synthesis of polypeptides is also based on graft copolymers formed from chloromethaylated PS. Thus, the variety of graft copolymers is great. 

Epoxides such as epoxyethane (ethylene oxide) can be polymerized cationi-cally (e.g., with Lewis acids) and anionically (e.g., with alcoholates or organome-tallic compounds). 

From propylene oxide these catalysts yield crystalline, isotactic polymers. Living polymerizations with metalloporphyrin derivatives are difficult to terminate and are therefore called by some immortal Catalysts like (C6H5)3-SbBr2-(C2H5)3N in combination with Lewis acids also yield crystalline poly(propylene oxide). Others, like pentavalent organoantimony halides, are useful in polymerizations of ethylene oxide. 

A patent for the polymerization process of olefins (especially ethylene, a-olefins, cyclopentene, and some fluorlnated olefins) describes the above catalytic systems [20]. The hindered diimines stabilize alkyl Ni(ll) or Pd(n) with cationic complexes. After preparation, the complexes are reduced with methylalu-minoxane and then activated with Lewis acids capable of forming non-coordinating counterions [20]. 

Polymerization of ethylene oxide can occur duriag storage, especially at elevated temperatures. Contamination with water, alkahes, acids, amines, metal oxides, or Lewis acids (such as ferric chloride and aluminum chloride) can lead to mnaway polymerization reactions with a potential for failure of the storage vessel. Therefore, prolonged storage at high temperatures or contact with these chemicals must be avoided (9). 

Polyacetals are among the aliphatic polyether family and are produced by the polymerization of formaldehyde. They are termed polyacetals to distinguish them from polyethers produced by polymerizing ethylene oxide, which has two -CH2- groups between the ether group. The polymerization reaction occurs in the presence of a Lewis acid and a small amount of water at room temperature. It could also be catalyzed with amines ... 

In many ways, TiCl4 behaves as a covalent compound of a nonmetal. It is a strong Lewis acid that forms complexes with many types of Lewis bases, and it hydrolyzes in water. It also reacts with alcohols to yield compounds having the formula Ti(OR)4. However, it is the behavior of TiCl4 (reacting with [A1(C2H5)3]2) as a catalyst in the Ziegler-Natta polymerization of ethylene that is the most important use of the compound (see Chapter 22). 

Titanocene and zirconocene dichlorides (Cp2MtCl2 with Mt = Ti, Zr) were the first metallocenes studied [Breslow and Newburg, 1957 Natta et al., 1957a], The metallocene initiators, like the traditional Ziegler-Natta initiators, require activation by a Lewis acid coinitiator, sometimes called an activator. AIRCI2 and A1R3 were used initially, but the result was initiator systems with low activity for ethylene polymerization and no activity in a-olefin polymerization. The use of methylaluminoxane (MAO), [A1(CH3)0] , resulted in greatly improved activity for ethylene polymerization [Sinn and Kaminsky, 1980], The properties of MAO are discussed in Sec. 8-5g. MAO has two functions alkylation of a transition metal-chloride bond followed by abstraction of the second chloride to yield a metallocenium... 

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