MORPHOLOGY CONTROLLED OLEFIN POLYMERIZATION PROCESS
A catalyst composition, method of formation and process of use in the polymerization of olefin monomers, said composition comprising a catalyst compound, an activator capable of converting said catalyst compound into an active catalyst for addition polymerization, optionally a carrier, further optionally a liquid diluent, and a hydroxycarboxylate metal salt additive.
1 . A catalyst composition comprising;
a catalyst compound selected from the group consisting of Group 4 metal complexes containing one or more ligands that are π-bonded to the transition metal, and metal complexes of the formula
wherein
R 1 is selected from alkyl, cycloalkyl, heteroalkyl, cycloheteroalkyl, aryl, and inertly substituted derivatives thereof containing from 1 to 30 atoms not counting hydrogen,
T is a divalent bridging group of from 1 to 20 atoms not counting hydrogen,
R 2 is a C 6-20 heteroaryl group containing Lewis base functionality,
M is the Group 4 metal,
X e is an anionic, neutral or dianionic ligand group,
x is a number from 0 to 5 indicating the number of such X e groups, and
bonds, optional bonds and electron donative interactions are represented by lines, dotted lines and arrows respectively; and
an activator capable of converting said catalyst compound into an active catalyst for addition polymerization;
optionally a carrier;
optionally a liquid diluent, and
a hydroxycarboxylate metal salt additive corresponding to the formula:
wherein R e and R f independently each occurrence are hydrogen, halogen, or C 1-6 alkyl.
2 . A catalyst composition according to claim 1 wherein the catalyst compound is a π-bonded Group 4 metallocene.
3 . An olefin polymerization process wherein one or more olefin monomers are polymerized in the presence of a catalyst composition characterized in that the catalyst composition corresponds to any one of claims 1 or 2 .
4 . A polymeric composition comprising the polymerization reaction product of:
one or more olefin monomers in the presence of a catalyst composition comprising;
a catalyst compound selected from the group consisting of Group 4 metal complexes containing one or more ligands that are π-bonded to the transition metal, and metal complexes of the formula,
wherein
R 1 is selected from alkyl, cycloalkyl, heteroalkyl, cycloheteroalkyl, aryl, and inertly substituted derivatives thereof containing from 1 to 30 atoms not counting hydrogen,
T is a divalent bridging group of from 1 to 20 atoms not counting hydrogen,
R 2 is a C 6-20 heteroaryl group containing Lewis base functionality,
M is the Group 4 metal,
X e is an anionic, neutral or dianionic ligand group,
x is a number from 0 to 5 indicating the number of such X e groups, and
bonds, optional bonds and electron donative interactions are represented by lines, dotted lines and arrows respectively; and
an activator capable of converting said catalyst compound into an active catalyst for addition polymerization,
optionally a carrier;
optionally a liquid diluent, and
a hydroxycarboxylate metal salt additive corresponding to the formula:
wherein R e and R f independently each occurrence are hydrogen, halogen, or C 1-6 alkyl.
5 . The polymeric composition according to claim 4 , wherein the catalyst compound is a π-bonded Group 4 metallocene.
6 . A polymeric composition comprising the polymerization reaction product of:
one or more olefin monomers in the presence of a catalyst composition comprising;
a catalyst compound selected from the group consisting of Group 4 metal complexes containing one or more ligands that are π-bonded to the transition metal, and metal complexes of the formula,
wherein
R 1 is selected from alkyl, cycloalkyl, heteroalkyl, cycloheteroalkyl, aryl, and inertly substituted derivatives thereof containing from 1 to 30 atoms not counting hydrogen,
T is a divalent bridging group of from 1 to 20 atoms not counting hydrogen,
R 2 is a C 6-20 heteroaryl group containing Lewis base functionality,
M is the Group 4 metal,
X e is an anionic, neutral or dianionic ligand group,
x is a number from 0 to 5 indicating the number of such X e groups, and
bonds, optional bonds and electron donative interactions are represented by lines, dotted lines and arrows respectively; and
an activator capable of converting said catalyst compound into an active catalyst for addition polymerization;
optionally a carrier;
optionally a liquid diluent, and
a hydroxycarboxylate metal salt additive corresponding to the formula:
wherein R e and R f independently each occurrence are hydrogen, halogen, or C 1-6 alkyl.
7 . The polymeric composition according to claim 6 wherein the catalyst compound is a π-bonded Group 4 metallocene.