Polymer Bulletin, Vol.65, No.8, 767-777, 2010
Polymerization of ethylene using a nickel alpha-diimine complex covalently supported on SiO2-MgCl2 bisupport
Bisupported catalyst for ethylene polymerization was prepared by mixing alcohol solution of MgCl2 with pretreated SiO2 in heptane, and further treating with bis(4-(4-amine-3,5-diisopropylbenzyl)-2,6-diisopropylphenylimino) acenaphtheneNiBr(2) (abbreviated as NiLBr2) solution. The bisupported catalyst could be used to polymerize ethylene with high activity using alkylaluminum halides as inexpensive cocatalysts. According to high-temperature GPC, the weight-average molecular weights of the polymers obtained ranged from 2.15 x 10(5) to 9.27 x 10(5), with molecular weight distributions of 3.12-4.23. By adjusting the polymerization temperatures, the products with good morphologies could be obtained. The resultant polyethylenes were confirmed by C-13-NMR to contain significant amounts not only of methyl but also of ethyl, propyl, butyl, amyl, and longer side chains (longer than six carbons).
Keywords:SiO2-MgCl2 bisupport;(alpha-Diimine) nickel complex;Heterogeneous catalysis;Branched polyethylene