Activator compositions, their preparation, and their use in catalysts

1. A composition comprising an aluminoxane and an activator precursor composition comprising:

i) a support material in contact with a linking compound, and

ii) a polyfunctional compound which has at least two aromatic groups in which at least two of said aromatic groups each has at least one polar monoprotic group thereon,

wherein the linking compound is an organometallic compound, a non-organometallic compound or mixtures thereof, with the proviso that the organometallic compound does not contain aluminum.

2. The composition of claim 1 wherein:

the support material is silica, alumina, or silica-alumina;

the polar monoprotic groups of the polyfunctional compound are hydroxy groups, thiol groups, or secondary amino groups.

3. The composition of claim 1 wherein:

the support material is silica;

the polar monoprotic groups of the polyfunctional compound are hydroxy groups.

4. The composition of claim 3 wherein the polyfunctional compound is 4,4′-ethylenediphenol, 4,4′-methylenebis(2,6-di(tert-butyl)-phenol), or 1,3,5-trimethyl-2,4,6-tris(3,5-di(tert-butyl)-4-hydroxybenzyl)benzene.

5. The composition of claim 1 wherein the linking compound is an organometallic compound having the formula:

MR 1 s Q t-s

wherein M represents a metal atom selecting from Mg, Sc, Y, Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Nb, Ta, Zn, B, Ga, In, Sn and mixtures thereof; R 1 is optionally the same or different and represents a C 1 -C 20 hydrocarbyl group, wherein the beta carbon of the hydrocarbyl group may be replaced by Si; Q represents a hetero-atom or a hetero-atom containing organic group where the heteroatom is directly bonded to M via the heteroatom; t stands for the valence of M and s is a number such that 2≤s≤t.

6. The composition of claim 5 wherein MR 1 s Q t-s is MgEt 2 , MgEtBu, MgBu 2 , MgBuOct, MgOct 2 , ZnMe 2 , ZnEt 2 , or Zr(CH 2 Ph) 4 .

7. The composition of claim 2 wherein the linking compound is a non-organometallic compound is represented by the formula:

M 1 Q 1 t

wherein M 1 represents a metal atom selecting from Mg, Al, Sc, Y, Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Nb, Ta, Cr, Mo, W, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, B Ga, In, Al, Si, Ge, Sn, La, Ce, Er, Yb, Lu and mixtures thereof; Q 1 may be the same or different and represents a heteroatom or a heteroatom containing organic group where said heteroatom or heteroatom containing group is directly bonded to M 1 via the heteroatom; t stands for the valence of M 1 .

8. The composition of claim 7 wherein M 1 Q 1 t is MgCl 2 , MgF 2 , AlCl 3 , AlF 3 , SiCl 4 , SiMeCl 3 , SiMe 2 Cl 2 , Ti(OEt) 4 , Ti(OBu) 4 , Ti(NMe 2 ) 4 , Ta(NMe 2 ) 5 or Zr(NMe 2 ) 4 .

9. The composition of claim 1 wherein the polyfunctional compound is represented by the formula:

E(ArJH) g

where E is an organic moiety, an atom, or a bond;

Ar is an aromatic moiety;

J is a polar atom or a polar group;

H is a hydrogen atom; and

g is an integer equal to or greater than 2.

10. The composition of claim 9 wherein the aluminoxane is methylaluminoxane and/or wherein the polyfunctional compound is 4,4′-ethylenediphenol, 4,4′-methylenebis(2,6-di(tert-butyl)-phenol), or 1,3,5-trimethyl-2,4,6-tris(3,5-di(tert-butyl)-4-hydroxybenzyl)benzene.

11. The composition of claim 1 , wherein said linker compound further comprises a mixture of an organoaluminum compound with said organometallic compound, or a mixture of an organoaluminum compound with said non-organometallic compound.