Olefin polymers having both ends modified and processes for the production thereof

Abstract: Polymers of olefins such as ethylene and propylene having functional groups introduced at both ends of the polymer, which are useful as macromonomers for polycondensation, comprise a recurring unit represented by the general formula -( - CH₂ · CHR -) - and have functional groups bonded to both the ends of the polymer and a number average molecular weight of 300 to 500,000, the functional groups being selected from the H₂C=CH- group and the group wherein X is -OH, -OR¹, a halogen atom or -SO₃R², R¹ is a hydrocarbon group of 1 to 5 carbon atoms and R² is a halogen-substituted or non-substituted hydrocarbon group of 1 to 20 carbon atoms.

Description: This invention relates to ethylene or propylene polymers each having vinyl groups at both ends of the polymer, and a process for their production. An ethylene polymer having a functional group introduced at one end of the polymer obtained by living anion polymerization of ethylene is known. A method comprising polymerizing propylene using a polymerization catalyst consisting of a vanadium chelate compound and a dialkylaluminum halide and modifying the end of the resulting propylene polymer with a functional group is known, but only one end of the polymer can be modified by the prior art method. EP-A- 188 915 discloses a propylene polymer wherein carbonyl groups have been introduced into the terminals of the polymer chains using a vanadium chelate compound and a dialkylaluminum halide. If functional groups could be introduced at both ends of polymers of olefins such as ethylene and propylene, many applications of such polymers can be envisaged for use of such polymers, e.g. macromonomers produced by polycondensation. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ethylene polymer having functional groups introduced at both ends of the polymer. It is another object of the present invention to provide an olefin polymer having vinyl groups introduced at both ends for use as a precursor of polymers having oxy groups or their derivatives introduced at both ends. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a process for the production of an ethylene or propylene polymer at both ends of which vinyl groups are introduced. These objects can be attained by an olefin polymer comprising a recurring unit represented by the general formula -( - CH 2 · CHR -) - and having functional groups bonded to both ends of the polymer and a number average molecular weight of 300 to 500,000, the functional groups being a H 2 C=CH-group. The inventors of the present invention have made various efforts to produce an olefin polymer having functional groups bonded to both ends of the polymer and have found that an olefin polymer having functional groups bonded to both ends of the polymer can be synthesized by polymerizing ethylene or propylene in the presence of a reaction product of a polymerization catalyst consisting of a vanadium chelate compound and a dialkylaluminium halide with an α, ω-diolefin compound, and then reacting the product with the diolefin compound. Accordingly, the present invention provides an olefin polymer comprising recurring units represented by the general formula -( -CH 2 · CHR -) - and having an H 2 C=CH- group bonded at both ends thereof and a number average molecular weight of 300 to 500,000, wherein R is a hydrogen atom or methyl group, and a process for the production of an olefin polymer, which comprises polymerizing ethylene or propylene In the presence of a reaction product of a polymerization catalyst consisting of a vanadium chelate compound and a dialkylaluminum halide represented by the general formula R 1' 2 AlX wherein R 1' is an alkyl group containing 1 to 20 carbon atoms and X' is a halogen atom with an α, ω-diolefin compound represented by the general formula H 2 C=CH -( - C m H 2m -) - CH=CH 2 wherein m is 1 to 15, and then reacting with the diolefin compound and with a proton donor. The olefin polymer of the present invention, as represented above, includes ethylene polymers when R is hydrogen atom and propylene polymers when R is methyl group, and generally has a number average molecular weight (Mn) 300 to 500,000, preferably 500 to 200,000. Preparation of Olefin Polymers: (1) Reaction of Polymerization Catalyst with Diolefin Compound The polymerization catalyst consists of a vanadium chelate compound and a dialkylaluminum halide. The vanadium chelate compound Is represented by the following general formula: In this general formula, R 2' to R 4' represent hydrogen atoms or hydrocarbon groups of 1 to 8 carbon atoms, but at least one of R 2' to R 4' must be a hydrogen atom and all of R 2' to R 4' must not be hydrogen atom. Specific examples of the compound included in the above described general formula will now be illustrated. When R 3' is a hydrogen atom and R 2' and R 4' are hydrocarbon groups: R 2' /R 4' : CH 3 /CH 3 , CH 3 /C 2 H 5 , C 2 H 5 /C 2 H 5 , CH 3 /C 6 H 5 , C 2 H 5 /C 6 H 5 , C 6 H 5 /C 6 H 5 CH 3 /C 6 H 5 CH 2 , C 6 H 5 CH 2 /C 6 H 5 CH 2 , C 2 H 5 /C 6 H 5 CH 2 , C 6 H 5 /C 6 H 5 CH 2 When R 3' is a hydrocarbon group and one of R 2' and R 4' is a hydrogen atom and the other is a hydrocarbon group: R 3' /R 2' or R 4' : CH 3 /CH 3 , C 2 H 5 /CH 3 , CH 3 /C 2 H 5 , C 2 H 5 /C 2 H 5 , C 6 H 5 /CH 3 , CH 3 /C 6 H 5 , C 6 H 5 /C 2 H 5 , C 2 H 5 /C 6 H 5 , C 6 H 5 /C 6 H 5 , C 6 H 5 CH 2 /CH 3 , CH 3 /C 6 H 5 CH 2 , C 6 H 5 CH 2 /C 6 H 5 CH 2 , C 6 H 5 CH 2 /C 2 H 5 , C 2 H 5 /C 6 H 5 CH 2 , C 6 H 5 CH 2 /C 6 H 5 , C 6 H 5 /C 6 H 5 CH 2 When R 3' is a hydrogen atom and one of R 2' and R 4' is a hydrogen atom and the other is a hydrocarbon group: R 2' or R 4' : CH 3 , C 2 H 5 , C 6 H 5 , C 6 H 5 CH 2 Above all, the following compounds are preferable. Examples of the dialkylaluminum halide represented by the foregoinng general formula are dimethylaluminum chloride, diethylaluminum chloride, diethylaluminum bromide, dlethylaluminum iodide and diisobutylaluminum chloride. The proportion of the vanadium chelate compound and dialkylaluminum halide used is generally 1 to 1,000 moles of the dialkylaluminum halide per 1 mole of the vanadium chelate compound. The α, ω -diolefin compound is represented by the general formula, H 2 C=CH -( - C m H 2m -) - CH=CH 2 where m is 1 to 15. Examples of the diolefin compound are 1,4-pentadiene, 1,5-hexadiene, 1,6-heptadiene, 1,7-octadiene, 1,8-nonediene, 1,9-decadiene, 1,10-undecadiene, 1,11-dodecadiene, 1,13-tetradecadiene, 1,15-hexadecadiene and 1,17-octadecadiene. The reaction of the polymerization catalyst with the diolefin compound is preferably carried out in a solvent which is inert to the reaction and liquid during the reaction, illustrative of which are hydrocarbons such as propane, butane, pentane, hexane, heptane and toluene. The reaction is carried out at a temperature of -50 °C or lower, preferably -65 °C or lower for a period of time of 1 minute to 10 hours, preferably 5 minutes to 2 hours. The reaction proportion of the polymerization catalyst and diolefin compound is controlled in such a manner that the vanadium compound in the polymerization catalyst is present in a proportion of 0.1 to 10 moles, preferably 0.5 to 2.0 moles per 1 mole of the diolefin compound. (2) Polymerization of Olefins The polymerization of olefins, in particular, ethylene or propylene is carried out in the presence of the reaction product obtained in (1) above, preferably by feeding ethylene or propylene to the reaction system in (1) above and effecting the reaction in a temperature range similar to that in (1) above for a longer time than in the case of (1) above. When the reaction temperature is adjusted to -65 °C or lower, in particular, there can be obtained a polymer having a Mw (weight average molecular weight)/Mn (number average molecular weight) of 1.05 to 1.5, near the monodisperse system. Furthermore, the yield and molecular weight of the polymer can be increased by lengthening the polymerization time. (3) Reaction with Diolefin Compound The reaction of the reaction product of (2) with the diolefin compound is preferably carried out by feeding the diolefin compound to the reaction system of (2) and effecting the reaction under the similar reaction conditions to those of (1) above. (4) Reaction with Proton Donor As the proton donor can be used water, alcohols or inorganic acids. The alcohols include e.g. methanol, ethanol and propanol and the inorganic acids include e.g. hydrochloric acid, nitric acid and sulfuric acid. The use of the proton donor functions to release the polymerization catalyst and give proton through action on the ends of the polymer, thereby precipitating the polymer. The reaction with the proton donor is generally carried out at a temperature of -100 °C to 200 °C, preferably 0 to 150 °C for 1 minute to 10 hours, preferably 0.1 to 2 hours. The proton donor is normally used in a large excessive amount. Thus, the olefin polymer of the present invention can be produced and it can be assumed that the polymer has the following microstructure containing the skeleton of the diolefin compound and the alkyl group R 1' of the dialkylaluminum halide used in the process, due to the adoption of the above described production process. A -( - CH 2 · CHR -) n - B in which A and B are described below and n is an integer corresponding to the number average molecular weight: The olefin polymer of the present invention is then reacted with diborane and then with an alkali metal hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide to obtain a polymer hydroxylated at both the ends (-CH 2 -CH 2 OH). A polymer having hydroxyl groups introduced at the β-position at both its ends, can be obtained by reacting the olefin polymer of the present invention with sulfuric acid and water, or by reacting the same with mercuric acetate and water and then with sodium borohydride (NaBH 4 ). Furthermore, the polymer hydroxylated in this way may be reacted with a silane compound represented by the general formula, R 5' 3 SiY in which R 5' is a hydrocarbon group containing 1 to 5 carbon atoms and Y is a halogen atom, to silyloxylate both the ends, [-CH 2 -CH 2 OSiR 5' 3 or -CH(OSiR 5' 3 )-CH 3 ], or may be reacted with a carboxylic acid represented by the general formula, R 6' COOH in which R 6' is an alkyl group containing 1 to 5 carbon atoms, to esterify both ends, The hydroxylation, silyloxylation and esterification reactions of the polymer of the present invention will now be illustrated: (5) Reaction with diborane The reaction of the olefin polymer of the present invention with diborane is usually carried out at 100 to 200 °C for 1 minute to 10 hours preferably in the presence of a solvent such as an ether. As the ether those preferably used have a boiling point of at least 100 °C, for example, aliphatic ethers such as di-n-butyl ether, di-s-butyl ether, di-n-amyl ether, di-i-amyl ether and the like. The diborane is ordinarily used in the form of a solution in tetrahydrofuran in a proportion of 0.2 to 100 moles, preferably 0.5 to 20 moles to 1 mole of the whole amount of the diolefin compounds used in the foregoing (1) and (3). (6) Reaction with alkali metal hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide The reaction with an alkali metal hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide is generally carried out at 0 to 100°C for 1 hour to 1 week. As the alkali metal oxide, there are generally used sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide, in general in the form of aqueous solutions. The hydrogen peroxide is ordinarily used as its aqueous solution. The alkali metal hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide are ordinarily used in excessive amounts, but it is sufficient to use them respectively in an amount of at least equimole to the diborane used in the foregoing (5). Thus, the olefin polymer of the present invention can be obtained both of whose ends are hydroxylated. (7) Reaction with sulfuric acid and water The reaction of the polymer of the present invention with sulfuric acid and water is ordinarily carried out in the presence of water or a mixture of water and ether at 80 to 150 °C for 1 minute to 10 hours. (8) Reaction with mercuric acetate and water The reaction of the polymer of the present invention with mercuric acetate and water is ordinarily carried out in the presence of a mixture of water and ether at 80 to 150 °C for 1 minute to 10 hours. (9) Reaction with sodium borohydride The reaction of the product obtained In the foregoing (8) with sodium borohydride can be carried out in the similar manner to the reaction method of (8). (10) Reaction with silane compound and carboxylic acid The silane compound used is represented by the general formula, R 5' 3 SiY in which R 5' is a hydrocarbon group containing 1 to 5 carbon atoms, preferably methyl or ethyl group and Y is a halogen atom such as chlorine, bromine, fluorine or iodine. The carboxylic acid is represented by the general formula, R 6 COOH in which R 6 is a hydrocarbon group containing 1 to 5 carbon atoms, preferably a methyl or ethyl group. The reaction of the dihydroxypolyolefin obtained In the foregoing (6), (7) or (9) with a silane compound or carboxylic acid can be carried out by the commonly used methods of trialkylsilylating or esterificating an alcohol. For example, the reaction with the silane compound is ordinarily carried out initially at 0 to 50 °C for 1 minute to 5 hours and further at 100 to 150 °C for 1 to 10 hours, preferably In the presence of a solvent such as an amine compound. As the amine compound, most preferred are those having a boiling point of at least 100 °C. The esterification reaction can be conducted with either a carboxylic acid alone or in combination with a small amount of concentrtaed sulfuric acid or dry hydrogen chloride. Furthermore, a carboxylic halide can be used instead of the carboxylic acid. The amount of the silane compound or carboxylic acid used is preferably at least twice by mole as much as the foregoing olefin polymer having hydroxyl groups at both ends. According to the process of the present invention, it is made possible to produce an olefin polymer both ends of which are modified with a vinyl group and from the polymer of the present invention can readily be produced an olefin polymer both of whose ends are modified with hydroxyl groups or substituted hydroxyl groups. The olefin polymer modified with hydroxyl groups can be used widely as a macromonomer for polycondensation. The following examples are given in order to illustrate the present Invention in detail: Example 1 1000 ml of toluene was charged to a flask of 3000 ml, sufficiently replaced by nitrogen gas, and then cooled at -65 °C, to which 1.2 millimoles of 1,7-octadiene was added at the same temperature. 10 millimoles of Al(C 2 H 5 ) 2 Cl and 1 millimole of V(2-methyl-1,3-butanedionato), were then added thereto and stirred for 30 minutes. Further, 4.5 g of ethylene was introduced thereinto for 2 hours and 1.2 millimoles of 1,7-octadiene was then added thereto. After stirring for 10 minutes, the reaction solution was poured in ethanol and filtered to obtain a polymer having a number average molecular weight (Mn) of 4.9 x 10 3 measured by the GPC method with a yield of 4.3 g. Measurement of the proton NMR of the above described polymer gave a signal based on the proton of the terminal double bonds at 5.0 ppm and 5.8 ppm. The assignments thereof are as follows: δ (ppm) Assignment δ (ppm) Assignment 5.0 -CH=C H 2 5.8 -C H = CH 2 From the intensity ratio of this signal and the peak of 1.3 ppm due to the ethylene polymer was obtained Mn of 4.6 x 10 3 assuming that vinyl groups were present at both the ends thereof. This value was substantially in agreement with that obtained by the GPC method. It was concluded therefrom that the thus obtained polymer was an ethylene polymer having vinyl groups at both ends thereof. The above described polymer was added to 200 ml of n-butyl ether, to which a solution of diborane in tetrahydrofuran was added at room temperatrue while vigorously stirring and passing nitrogen. The amount of the diborane added was 2.5 millimoles. After stirring for 1 hour at the refluxing temperature, the temperature was lowered and 200 ml of a 3 N aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide and 200 ml of a 30 % aqueous solution of hydrogen peroxide were added thereto, followed by stirring for 1 day. The resulting polymer was adequately washed with water, then washed with acetone and dried. There was found a broad peak at 3300 to 3500 cm -1 in the IR (infrared absorption spectrum) chart of the thus formed polymer, from which it was apparent that the polymer had a hydroxyl group. The above described ethylene polymer and 10 g of trimethylchlorosilane were added to 200 ml of pyridine, stirred at 25 °C for 1 hour and then refluxed for 4 hours. The resulting polymer was washed with methanol and then dried. Measurement by proton NMR gave a signal due to the proton of -Si(CH 3 ) 3 group at 0.08 ppm. From the intensity ratio of this signal and the peak of 1.3 ppm due to the ethylene polymer was obtained Mn of 5.5 x 10 3 , which was substantially in agreement with that obtained from GPC. It was concluded therefrom that an ethylene polymer having trimethylsilyloxy groups at both ends thereof was synthesized from the polymer. As a result of the IR analysis, a peak of 3300 to 3500 cm -1 was not observed in the ethylene polymer having trimethylsilyloxy groups at both ends thereof. Thus, it was concluded that the polymer before the reaction with trimethylchlorosilane was an ethylene polymer having hydroxyl groups at both ends thereof. Example 2 1000 ml of toluene was charged in a flask of 3000 ml, sufficiently replaced by nitrogen gas, and then cooled at -78 °C, to which 0.6 millimole of 1,9-decadiene was added at the same temperature. 100 millimoles of Al(C 2 H 5 ) 2 Cl and 20 millimoles of V(acetylacetonato) 3 were then added thereto and stirred for 30 minutes. Further, 1.5 g of ethylene was introduced thereinto for a period of 30 minutes and 0.6 millimoles of 1,9-decadiene was then added thereto. After stirring for 30 minutes, the reaction solution was poured in ethanol and filtered to obtain a polymer with a yield of 1.2 g. Then, the hydroxylation reaction was carried out in an analogous manner to Example 1 except changing the amount of diborane in 1 millimole. When the resulting polymer was subjected to IR analysis, a broad peak was observed at 3300 to 3500 cm -1 . Measurement of the hydroxylated polymer by GPC gave an Mn of 2.6 x 10 3 . Example 3 Example 1 was repeated except introducing 1.5 g of ethylene for 30 minutes to synthesize an ethylene polymer of the present invention, having an Mn of 1.5 x 10 3 , measured by proton NMR. Example 4 1000 ml of toluene was charged in a flask of 3000 ml, sufficiently replaced by nitrogen gas, and then cooled at -78 °C, to which 1.5 millimoles of 1,7-octadiene was added at the same temperature. 100 millimoles of Al(C 2 H 5 ) 2 Cl and 20 millimoles of V(acetylacetonato) 3 were then added thereto and stirred for 30 minutes. Further, 35 g of propylene was added thereto and polymerized for 1 hour, to which 3.0 millimoles of 1,7-octadiene was then added. After stirring for 30 minutes, the reaction solution was poured in ethanol and filtered to obtain a polymer with a yield of 6.1 g. Measurement of the proton NMR of the above described polymer gave a signal based on the proton of the terminal double bonds at 5.0 ppm and 5.8 ppm. From the intensity ratio of this signal and the peak of 0.7-1.7 ppm due to the propylene polymer was obtained Mn of 5.1 x 10 3 assuming that vinyl groups were present at both ends thereof. When this polymer was subjected to GPC analysis, Mn was 6.0 x 10 3 , from which it was concluded that the thus obtained polymer was a propylene polymer having vinyl groups at both ends thereof. The above described polymer was dissolved in 500 ml of tetrahydrofuran, to which a solution of diborane in THF was added at room temperatrue while vigorously stirring and flowing nitrogen. The amount of the diborane added was 3 millimoles. After stirring for 4 hours at room temperature, a 3 N aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide and 30 % aqueous solution of hydrogen peroxide were added thereto and further stirred for 1 day. The resulting polymer was washed with water, then washed with acetone and dried. When the thus formed polymer was subjected to IR analysis, a broad peak due to hydroxyl group at 3300 to 3500 cm -1 was observed. The number average molecular weight, measured by GPC, was 4.8 x 10 3 . When the reaction with trimethylchlorosilane was carried out in the similar manner to Example 1, the proton NMR of the resulting polymer showed a peak due to the hydrogen of the trimethylsilyl group at 0.08 ppm and a peak due to the proton of the propylene polymer at 0.7 to 1.7 ppm. From the intensity ratio of both the peaks was obtained an Mn of 5.6 x 10 3 .

Claims: An olefin polymer comprising recurring units represented by the general formula -( - CH 2 · CHR -) - and having a H 2 C=CH- group bonded at both ends thereof and a number average molecular weight of 300 to 500,000, wherein R is a hydrogen atom or methyl group. An olefin polymer as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the olefin polymer has an Mw/Mn of 1.05 to 1.5. A process for the production of an olefin polymer as claimed in Claim 1, which comprises polymerizing ethylene or propylene In the presence of a reaction product of a polymerization catalyst consisting of a vanadium chelate compound and a dialkylaluminum halide represented by the general formula R 1' 2 AlX' wherein R 1' is an alkyl group containing 1 to 20 carbon atoms and X' is a halogen atom with an α, ω-diolefin compound represented by the general formula H 2 C=CH-( - C m H 2m -) - CH=CH 2 wherein m is 1 to 15, and then reacting with the diolefin compound and with a proton donor. A process as claimed in Claim 3, wherein the chelate compound is selected from V(acetylacetonato) 3 , V(2-methyl-1,3-butanedionato) 3 and V(1,3-butanedionato) 3 . A process as claimed in Claim 3 or Claim 4 wherein the dialkylaluminum halide is selected from dimethylaluminum chloride, diethylaluminum chloride, diethylaluminum bromide, diethylaluminum iodide, diisobutylaluminum chloride and mixtures thereof. A process as claimed in any one of Claims 3 to 5 wherein the vanadium chelate compound and the dialkylaluminum halide are used in a proportion of 1 to 1,000 moles of dialkylaluminum halide to 1 mole of the vanadium chelate compound. A process as claimed in any one of Claims 3 to 6 wherein the diolefin compound is selected from 1,4-pentadiene, 1,5-hexadiene, 1,6-heptadiene, 1,7-octadiene, 1,8-nonadiene, 1,9-decadiene, 1,10-undecadiene, 1,11-dodecadiene, 1,13-tetradecadiene, 1,15-hexadecadecadiene, 1,17-octadecadiene and mixtures thereof. A process as claimed in any one of Claims 3 to 7 wherein the polymerization catalyst and the diolefin compound are reacted in a proportion of 0.1 to 10 moles of the vanadium compound in the polymerization catalyst to 1 mole of diolefin compound.

Inventors: FURUHASHI HIROYUKI, KOYAMA NAOMI, UEKI SATOSHI, FURUHASHI, HIROYUKI, KOYAMA, NAOMI, UEKI, SATOSHI, Furuhashi, Hiroyuki, c/o Corporate Research &amp; Dev., Koyama, Naomi, c/o Corporate Research &amp; Dev., Ueki, Satoshi, c/o Corporate Research &amp; Dev.
Applicants: TONEN CORP, TONEN CORPORATION
Application year: 1991
Main classification: C08F210
IPC codes: C08F110, C08F8, C08F10, C08F210