Copolymerization of Ethylene/1-Olefin with Mesoporous Titania-Supported Zirconocene/MAO Catalyst

Different mesoporous titanias synthesized by hydrolysis and polycondensation reactions of tetrabutyl titanate with various hydrolysis ratios (H 2 O/Ti by mole) were employed as supports for zirconocene/MAO catalysts in ethylene/1-olefin copolymerization. The pure anatase phase of titania was detected by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the morphology was seen by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The titania obtained was then impregnated with methylaluminoxane (MAO). The amounts of [Al]MAO were measured by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Upon polymerization, it was found that the high surface area of titania apparently exhibited high polymerization activity due to large amounts of [Al]MAO present as seen by EDX and XPS. The obtained copolymer was further characterized by 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (13C NMR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). More details are discussed further.