Copolymerization of ethylene and styrene with a MgCl2-supported CpTiCl3 catalyst

Copolymerization of ethylene and styrene was carried out with CpTiCl3/MgCl2-PMAO as a catalyst at various temperatures and comonomer concentrations. The present catalyst system produces a pseudorandom copolymer of ethylene and styrene beside syndiotactic poly(styrene) (sPS) and poly(ethylene) (PE). The copolymers were obtained at temperature ⪈60°C, indicating the active species promoting the copolymerization being formed at elevated temperatures. On the other hand, styrene incorporation in the copolymer increases progressively with the increase of styrene concentration.