Selective partial hydrogenation of conjugated diene polymers

Abstract: This is a process for the partial hydrogenation of conjugated diene polymers which comprises polymerizing at least one conjugated diene using an organo alkali metal polymerization initiator in a suitable solvent thereby creating a living polymer comprising (1) ethylenic unsaturation between backbone carbons wherein at least one of the doubly bound backbone carbons is substituted and (2) ethylenic unsaturation which is not between doubly bound backbone carbons wherein at least one is substituted, terminating the polymerization, and effecting selective hydrogenation of the ethylenic unsaturation in the conjugated diene units of the terminated polymer which is not between doubly bound backbone carbons wherein at least one is substituted, by contacting the polymer with hydrogen in the presence of no more than 0.02 mmol of catalyst per gram of polymer of a bis(cyclopentadienyl)titanium catalyst.

Description: This invention relates to a method for hydrogenating ethylenically unsaturated polymers and to polymeric materials which are hydrogenated by the process. More particularly, this invention relates to a method for selectively hydrogenating ethylenically unsaturated polymeric materials wherein a controlled amount of ethylenic unsaturation remains after hydrogenation. Polymers of conjugated dienes are useful elastomeric polymers. These polymers contain a residual double bond from each diene monomer and this double bond provides a site for cross-linking, grafting or functionalization. Unfortunately, the double bonds are present in an excess over those generally required for these reactions. The unreacted double bonds provide sites for detrimental reactions which result in poor stability against U.V., oxidative and thermal degradation. When excellent stability is required, ethylenic unsaturation is reduced or eliminated by hydrogenation of the polymer. When both stability and reactive sites are required, it is desirable to have a controlled amount of unsaturation remaining in the polymer after hydrogenation. Several processes to hydrogenate ethylenically unsaturated polymers are known. One class of process utilizes heterogenous catalyst systems or carrier-supported metals. Metals known to be useful in this process include Ni, Pt, Pd, and Ru. This process can be low in activity and therefore may require high catalyst concentrations and long reaction times to obtain high levels of hydrogenation. An improved hydrogenation process utilizes a homogenous catalyst. Homogenous catalysts can be prepared by combining an aluminium alkyl with a Group VIII metal carboxylate or alkoxide. The aluminium alkyl reduces the Group VIII metal and an aluminium Group VIII metal complex is formed. This hydrogenation process can be selective, hydrogenating ethylenic unsaturation but not hydrogenating aromatic unsaturation. With careful selection of hydrogenation conditions, this type of process can also be selective between different types of ethylenic unsaturation. U.S. Patent No. 4,879,349 discloses such a selective process wherein specific process conditions result in selective hydrogenation of less sterically hindered ethylenic unsaturation while not hydrogenating a high level of the more sterically hindered ethylenic unsaturation. Faulk, in "Coordination Catalysts for the Selective Hydrogenation of Polymeric Unsaturation", Journal of Polymer Science, 9, 2617-23 (1971), also discloses a process (utilizing cobalt or nickel homogenous catalysts) which can be selective between isoprene and butadiene unsaturation. These processes require removal of the Group VIII metal from the hydrogenated polymer because the Group VIII metals can catalyze degradation of the hydrogenated polymer if left in the polymer. Removal is complicated and expensive due to the fine size of the colloidal catalyst suspension. It would therefore be advantageous to develop a process which would selectively hydrogenate different types of ethylenic unsaturation (i.e. butadiene and isoprene) and utilize a homogeneous catalyst which does not require a catalyst removal step. European patent application No. 0,460,725 discloses a process comprising the copolymerisation of at least a conjugated diolefin with an organo-alkali metal polymerization indicator in a suitable solvent. However, from said document (which is one out of many documents on hydrogenation catalysts and processes) it would not yet have been clear that said process would be selective between different types of ethylenic unsaturation. The objects of this invention are achieved by use of a catalyst of the formula: for the purpose of selectively hydrogenating conjugated diene polymers, which comprises: (a) copolymerizing at least one substituted conjugated diene and at least one unsubstituted conjugated diene with an organo-lithium polymerization initiator in a suitable solvent thereby creating a living polymer comprising (1) ethylenic unsaturation between backbone carbons where at least one of the double bound backbone carbons is substituted and (2) ethylenic unsaturation which is not between double bound backbone carbons wherein at least one is substituted; (b) terminating the polymerization with hydrogen; and (c) selectively hydrogenating at least 95% of the ethylenic unsaturation which is not between double bound backbone carbons wherein at least one is substituted, by contacting the polymer with hydrogen in the presence of no more than 0.02 millimoles of catalyst per gram of polymer of a catalyst of the formula: wherein R 1 and R 2 are the same or different and are selected from the group consisting of halogen groups, C 1 -C 8 alkyl and alkoxy groups, C 6 -C 8 aryloxy groups, aralkyl, cycloalkyl groups, silyl groups and carbonyl groups, while the lithium : titanium molar ratio during the hydrogenation is at least 2:1. Category (2) of unsaturation includes unsaturation which is in pendant groups to the backbone such as 1,2 or 3,4 polymerization as discussed below and unsaturation between backbone carbons which are not substituted as in 1,4-butadiene. Preferably the lithium titanium molar ratio during hydrogenation is in the range of from 3:1 to 30:1. This process provides the benefits of a homogenous hydrogenation catalyst and provides unexpected selectivity between types of ethylenic unsaturation. Monomers are selected to provide both types of unsaturation and the relative amounts of the monomers are selected so that the type of unsaturation can be controlled to result in a controllable amount of residual unsaturation in the copolymer which controls the polymer properties desired. In a preferred embodiment, the copolymer produced is a block copolymer comprising one or more vinyl aromatic hydrocarbon polymer blocks, preferably styrene polymer blocks. Preferably, the copolymer contains one or more isoprene/butadiene copolymer blocks which may be either polymerized sequentially or simultaneously. The controlled amount of residual unsaturation retained in the conjugated diene blocks can be utilized for crosslinking, grafting or functionalization. The organo alkali metal polymerisation initiator may be any such initiator known in the art. Particularly effective anionic polymerization initiators are organo lithium compounds, such as e.g. n-butyllithium and sec-butyllithium. Polymerization temperatures generally lie within the range of from -150 °C to +300 °C, preferably 0 to 100 °C. Conjugated dienes which may be polymerized anionically include those conjugated dienes containing from 4 to 12 carbon atoms such as 1,3-butadiene, isoprene, piperylene, methylpentadiene, phenylbutadiene, 3,4-dimethyl-1,3-hexadiene, 4,5-diethyl-1,3-octadiene and the like. Conjugated dienes containing from 4 to about 8 carbon atoms are preferred for use in such polymers. Vinyl aromatic hydrocarbons which may be copolymerized include styrene, various alkyl-substituted styrenes, such as α-methylstyrene, alkoxy-substituted styrenes, 2-vinyl pyridine, 4-vinyl pyridine, vinyl naphthalene, alkyl-substituted vinyl naphthalenes and the like. In general, any of the solvents known in the prior art to be useful in the preparation of such polymers may be used. Suitable solvents, then, include straight- and branched-chain hydrocarbons such as pentane, hexane, heptane, octane and the like, as well as, alkyl-substituted derivatives thereof; cycloaliphatic hydrocarbons such as cyclopentane, cyclohexane, cycloheptane and the like, as well as, alkyl-substituted derivatives thereof; aromatic and alkyl-substituted derivatives thereof; aromatic and alkyl-substituted aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene, naphthalene, toluene, xylene and the like; hydrogenated aromatic hydrocarbons such as tetralin, decalin and the like; halogenated hydrocarbons, particularly halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons, such as chlorobenzene, chlorotoluene and the like; linear and cyclic ethers such as methyl ether, methyl ethyl ether, diethyl ether, tetrahydrofuran and the like. The types of conjugated dienes polymerized in the present invention, along with polymerization conditions, must be chosen so as to provide a mixture of unsaturation which will result in a predisposition to hydrogenation to the desired residual hydrogenation. Butadiene and other unsubstituted conjugated dienes polymerize in the following manner: wherein R 1 is hydrogen for butadiene or an alkyl group for a higher unsubstituted conjugated diene. Each of these manners for polymerization result in residual ethylenic unsaturation which can be hydrogenated by the titanium based catalysts, but at significantly different hydrogenation rates. When the conjugated diene has been substituted, the following possibilities of polymerization exist: wherein R 1 , R 2 and R 3 may be the same or different and may be hydrogen or alkyl groups, but either R 1 or R 2 must be an alkyl group. Only 1,4 polymerization of a substituted monomer such as isoprene results in backbone unsaturation between carbon atoms wherein at least one of the doubly bound carbons is substituted. This is the type of unsaturation which is selectively left unhydrogenated in the partial hydrogenation process of the present invention. Isoprene is the preferred substituted conjugated diene. Other substituted conjugated dienes which may be used to produce backbone unsaturation between doubly bound carbons wherein at least one is substituted (and which will be selectively left unhydrogenated) include 2-ethyl-1,3-butadiene, 2-methyl-1,3-pentadiene, 2-ethyl-1,3-pentadiene, 2-methyl-1,3-hexadiene, 2-ethyl-1,3-hexadiene, 2-methyl-1,3-heptadiene, 2-ethyl-1,3-heptadiene, 2-methyl-1,3-octadiene, 2-ethyl-1,3-octadiene and the like. Butadiene is the preferred unsubstituted conjugated diene. Others include 1,3-pentadiene, 1,3-hexa-diene, 1,3-heptadiene, 1,3-octadiene and the like. In non polar solvents, such as cyclohexane, benzene and hexane, conjugated dienes generally polymerize with a predominantly 1,4-addition. Typically, isoprene will polymerize to 95% 1,4-addition and about 5% 3,4-addition in non polar solvents. Adding polar cosolvents, such as tetrahydrofuran or diethyl ether, or adding polar modifiers such as N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine, increases 1,2- and 3,4-polymerization. The species of initiator and polymerization temperature also vary the mode of addition somewhat. For example, polymerization of isoprene in tetrahydrofuran with n-butyllithium as an initiator at 25 °C is reported to result in 11% 1,4-addition, 28% 1,2-addition and 61% 3,4-addition, whereas polymerization at 30 °C utilizing sec-butyllithium is reported to result in 69% 1,4- and 31% 3,4-addition. A single substituted conjugated diene, such as isoprene, can therefore be polymerized under conditions which result in sufficient backbone as well as non-backbone ethylenic unsaturation between carbons which are doubly bound wherein at least one is substituted to result in a polymer which can be selectively hydrogenated by the hydrogenation process of this invention to result in a useful partially hydrogenated polymer. But more typically, the substituted conjugated diene will be copolymerized with an unsubstituted conjugated diene to produce a higher 1,4-addition polymer. Polymers with higher 1,4-additions, namely, have properties more like natural rubbers and are generally preferable. Conjugated diene polymers and conjugated diene-vinyl aromatic copolymers which may be used in the present invention include those copolymers described in e.g. U.S. Patents Nos. 3,135,716; 3,150,209; 3,496,154; 3,498,960; 4,145,298; 4,238,202; 3,231,635; 3,265,765 and 3,322,856. Polymers which may be treated in accordance with this invention also include coupled and radial block copolymers, either symmetric or asymmetric, such as those described in U.S. Patents Nos. 4,033,888; 4,077,893; 4,141,847; 4,391,949 and 4,444,953. The polymerization may be terminated using any conventional technique, such as adding a terminating agent to the polymerization mixture. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention the polymerization is terminated by utilizing hydrogen gas instead of the conventionally used alcohol terminating agent. By using hydrogen namely, lithium hydride is formed during the termination process, which is not a reactive polymerization initiator, when formed in this manner. It is inert to polymerization and does not interfere with the molecular weight control of the next polymerization batch as alcohol termination of polymers can. This permits recycle of the solvent without an expensive purification process and forms an additional advantage of the present invention. It is usually advisable to contact and vigorously mix the hydrogen termination gas with the polymerization solution at the end of the polymerization reaction. This contact and vigorous mixing can be effected by adding the hydrogen gas through spargers in a mixing vessel containing polymer solution. The time of contact should be at least ten seconds and preferably about twenty minutes to allow sufficient contact time for the reaction to occur. The exact contact time is dependent upon the efficiency of the gas contacting equipment, gas solubility, solution viscosity and temperature. Alternatively, a continuous system could be employed whereby hydrogen is pumped into a solution prior to going to a statically mixed plug flow reactor. Hydrogen could also be dissolved in an appropriate solution and added to the polymer solution to be terminated. Another method would be to cause the hydrogen to be absorbed into an absorption bed and then cause the polymer solution to flow through the absorption bed. The hydrogen contact could also be carried out by adding a material which gives off hydrogen upon decomposition, such as e.g. diimide. The problems of using alcohol, i.e. the formation of lithium alkoxides and excess alcohol impurities, are avoided when hydrogen termination is utilized. It has been found that if hydrogen termination is used, hydrogenation utilizing a bis(cyclopentadienyl)titanium catalyst may be performed without the necessity of a hydrocarbon lithium or alkoxy lithium promoter, whether added with the catalyst or present in the living polymer. The hydrogenation step of the present process is carried out in the presence of a bis(cyclopentadienyl)titanium compound of the formula: wherein R 1 and R 2 are the same or different and are selected from the group consisting of halogen groups, C 1 -C 8 alkyl and alkoxy groups, C 6 -C 8 aryloxy groups, aralkyl, cycloalkyl groups, silyl groups and carbonyl groups. If hydrogen termination is used, the hydrogenation step may be carried out in the absence of hydrocarbon lithium and alkoxy lithium compounds. No more than 0.02 mmoles (mmol) of catalyst per gram of copolymer can be used. If hydrogen termination is used, then no more than 0.003 mmol of catalyst per gram of polymer may be used. If more is used, the selectivity of the hydrogenation drastically decreases and the desired partially hydrogenated diene blocks may not be created. Specific bis(cyclopentadienyl) compounds which may be used in the present invention include bis(cyclopenzadienyl)titanium dichloride, bis(cyclopentadienyl)titanium dibromide, bis(cyclopentadienyl)titanium diiodide, bis(cyclopentadienyl)titanium difluoride, bis(cyclopenzadienyl)titanium dicarbonyl, bis(cyclopentadienyl)titanium dimethyl, bis(cyclopentadienyl)titanium diethyl, bis(cyclopentadienyl)titanium dibutyl (including n-butyl, sec-butyl, tert-butyl), bis(cyclopentadienyl)titanium )titanium bis(trimethylsilylmethyl, bis(cyclopentadienyl)titanium dibenzyl, bis(cyclopentadienyl)titanium dihexyl, bis(cyclopentadienyl)titanium dimethoxide, bis(cyclopentadienyl)titanium )titanium diethoxide, bis(cyclopentadienyl)titanium dibutoxide, bis(cyclopentadienyl)titanium dipentoxide, bis(cyclopentadienyl)titanium dineopentoxide, bis(cyclopentadienyl) titanium diphenoxide, and all mixtures thereof. The preferred titanium compound is bis(cyclopentadienyl) titanium dichloride because of ease of handling, air stability and commercial availability. This process will selectively hydrogenate ethylenic unsaturation which is not between double bound backbone carbons of which at least one is substituted, without appreciably hydrogenating alkenyl aromatic hydrocarbons or backbone ethylenic unsaturation wherein at least one of the doubly bound carbon atoms is substituted. Hydrogenation of the ethylenic unsaturation which is not between double bound backbone carbons of which at least one is substituted to degrees of greater than 50% are easily obtained but it has been found that in order to achieve hydrogenation percentages of greater than 95% as is often desired, the lithium to titanium molar ratio must be at least 2:1 and preferably from 3 to 30. In general, there has to be sufficient alkali metal to ensure quick and sufficient interaction between the two metals. A high viscosity (high molecular weight) polymer may require a higher ratio because of the lesser mobility of the metals in the polymer cement. If alkali metal hydride must be added to increase the ratio, it can be made in situ by adding an organo alkali metal compound and hydrogen to the polymer (i.e., sparge), either before or after termination of the polymerization. It is generally desirable to achieve hydrogenation of the ethylenic unsaturation which is not between doubly bound backbone carbons wherein at least one of the doubly bound carbons is substituted of greater than 95% with even as much as 99% being possible. The amount of residual unsaturation left in the polymer then depends primarily upon the amount of substituted 1,4-polymerization which takes place and secondarily, the hydrogenation conditions used including, but not inclusive to, catalyst concentration, temperature, pressure, mixing and reaction time. Generally, no more than 40% of such double bonds will be hydrogenated. In general, the hydrogenation is carried out in a suitable solvent at a temperature within the range of from 0 ° to 120 °C, preferably 25 to 90 °C, and at a hydrogen partial pressure within the range from 1 to 84 bar (1 to 1200 psig), preferably from 4 to 21 bar (50 to 300 psig). Contacting at hydrogenation conditions is generally continued for a period of time within the range from 15 to 1440 minutes, preferably 30 to 360 minutes. Suitable solvents for hydrogenation include, among others, n-heptane, n-pentane, tetrahydrofuran, cyclohexane, toluene, hexane and benzene. Because of the small amount of catalyst present in the polymer after hydrogenation, it is not necessary to separate the hydrogenation catalyst and catalyst residue from the polymer. However, if separation is desired, it may be carried out using methods well known in the prior art. Hydrogenation may be carried out in other manners such as batch processes, continuous processes, and semi-continuous processes. Example 1 A 158.8 kg (350 lb.) batch of polystyrene-polybutadiene-polyisoprene sequential block copolymer 39,600 molecular weight was made by anionic polymerization using sec-butyllithium as an initiator in a 661 litre (150 gallon) pressurized reactor. The polymer contained approximately 17%w polystyrene, 31%w 1,2-polybutadiene, 44%w 1,4-polybutadiene, 5%w 1,4-polyisoprene and 3%w 3,4-polyisoprene. The polymerization took place in a mixture of cyclohexane and diethyl ether. The resulting polymer solution contained 20% polymer by weight. At the end of the polymerization reaction, the reactor temperature was approximately 60 °C. The reactor was sparged and vigorously mixed with hydrogen for approximately 30 minutes. Example 2 A 158.8 kg (350 lb.) batch of polystyrene-(polybutadiene/polyisoprene) copolymer was made by anionic polymerization using sec-butyllithium as an initiator in a 661 litre (150 gallon) pressurized reactor. The polystyrene block was a discrete block of polystyrene and the diene block was a random copolymerization of butadiene and isoprene. The resulting polymer was 37,100 molecular weight and contained approximately 19%w polystyrene, 26%w 1,2-polybutadiene, 45%w 1,4-polybutadiene, 5%w 1,4-polyisoprene and 5%w 3,4-polyisoprene. The polymerization took place in a mixture of cyclohexane and diethyl ether. The resulting polymer solution contained 20% polymer by weight. At the end of the polymerization reaction, the reactor temperature was approximately 60 °C. The reactor was sparged and vigorously mixed with hydrogen for approximately 30 minutes. Examples 3-6 [Hydrogenation of a hydrogen terminated polymer with varying amounts of Cp 2 TiCl 2 catalyst] All hydrogenation runs were carried out under similar conditions unless otherwise noted. A typical experimental hydrogenation run consisted of pressure transferring to a 4-litre reactor 1560 grams of the 20% by weight solution of polymer. The temperature of the reactor was maintained at 75 °C and the reactor pressured to 17.5 bar (240 psig) with hydrogen. At this point, bis(cyclopentadienyl)titanium dichloride (Cp 2 TiCl 2 ) was added to the reactor as a cyclohexane solution. The reaction was allowed to run for 3 hours, during which time samples were drawn from the reactor and analyzed by proton NMR to determine the remaining distribution of olefinic double bonds. In the cases where 0.33 mmol catalyst was used, the remaining olefinic double bonds were primarily associated with the polyisoprene. Example 3 The polymer of Example 1 was hydrogenated with 0.12 mmol of the Cp 2 TiCl 2 catalyst. The amount catalyst per polymer weight was 0.00038 mmol per gram of polymer. After Hydrogenation Percent Hydrogenated 1,2-polybutadiene 0.1%w 99.7 1,4-polybutadiene 6%w 86.4 1,4-polyisoprene 5%w 0 3,4-polyisoprene 3%w 0 The total olefinic conversion was 85% and the remaining olefinic unsaturation was 2.3 meq/g. Example 4 The polymer of Example 1 was hydrogenated with 0.33 mmol of the Cp 2 TiCl 2 catalyst (0.001 mmol per gram of polymer). The polymer solution was 20% by weight polymer. The proton NMR results of the 3 hour sample follow: After Hydrogenation Percent Hydrogenated 1,2-polybutadiene <0.1%w >99.7 1,4-polybutadiene 0.8%w 98.2 1,4-polyisoprene 5%w 0 3,4-polyisoprene 1%w 66.7 The total olefinic conversion was 93% and the remaining olefinic unsaturation was 1 meq/g. Example 5 The polymer of Example 2 was hydrogenated with 0.12 mmol of the Cp 2 TiCl 2 catalyst (0.00038 mmol per gram of polymer). The polymer solution was 20% by weight polymer. The proton NMR results of the 3 hour sample follow: After Hydrogenation Percent Hydrogenated 1,2-polybutadiene 0.8%w 96.9 1,4-polybutadiene 14%w 68.9 1,4-polyisoprene 4%w 20 3,4-polyisoprene 5%w 0 The total olefinic conversion was 73% and the remaining olefinic unsaturation was 4 meq/g. Comparison of Examples 5 and 3 shows the difference in selectivity of isoprene hydrogenation between a random (Example 5) and homopolymer (Example 3) diene block. Example 6 The polymer of Example 2 was hydrogenated with 0.33 mmol of the Cp 2 TiCl 2 catalyst (0.001 mmol per gram of polymer). The polymer solution was 20% by weight polymer. The proton NMR results of the 3 hour sample follow: After Hydrogenation Percent Hydrogenated 1,2-polybutadiene <0.1%w >99.6 1,4-polybutadiene 0.4%w 99.1 1,4-polyisoprene 3%w 40 3,4-polyisoprene 3%w 0 The total olefinic conversion was 93% and the remaining olefinic unsaturation was 1 meq/g. Comparison of Examples 4 and 6 shows the difference in selectivity of isoprene hydrogenation between a random (Example 6) and homopolymer (Example 4) diene block. Example 7 A 158.8 kg (350 lb.) batch of polystyrene-(polybutadiene/polyisoprene) copolymer was made by anionic polymerization using sec-butyllithium as an initiator in a 661 litre (150 gallon) pressurized reactor. The polystyrene block was a discrete block of polystyrene and the diene block was a random copolymerization of butadiene and isoprene. The resulting polymer was 96,700 molecular weight and contained approximately 20%w polystyrene, 25%w 1,2-polybutadiene, 42%w 1,4-polybutadiene, 6.5%w 1,4-polyisoprene, and 6.5%w 3,4-polyisoprene. The polymerization took place in a mixture of cyclohexane and diethyl ether. The resulting polymer solution contained 20% polymer by weight. At the end of the polymerization reaction, the reaction was terminated with a 1.1 molar ratio of methanol to sec-butyllithium. Example 8 The polymer was prepared in the same manner as Example 7, but the composition of the polymer was changed. The resulting polymer was 93,100 molecular weight and contained approximately 20%w polystyrene, 20%w 1,2-polybutadiene, 35%w 1,4-polybutadiene, 12%w 1,4-polyisoprene, and 13%w 3,4-polyisoprene. Examples 9-11 [Hydrogenation of methanol terminated polymer with varying amounts of Cp 2 TiCl 2 catalyst] All hydrogenation runs were carried out under similar conditions unless otherwise noted. A typical experimental hydrogenation run consisted of pressure transferring to a 4-litre reactor 780 grams of the 20% by weight solution of polymer and 780 grams of cyclohexane so that the resulting polymer solution in the reactor was 10% by weight. The temperature of the reactor was maintained at 40 °C and the reactor pressure maintained at 5.8 bar (70 psig) with hydrogen. At this point, 7.5 mmol of sec-butyllithium was added to the reactor and allowed to mix for 10 minutes. The Cp 2 TiCl 2 was added to the reactor as a toluene solution. The reaction was allowed to run for 3 hours, during which time samples were drawn from the reactor and analyzed by proton NMR to determine the remaining distribution of olefinic double bonds. Example 9 The polymer of Example 7 was hydrogenated with 1 mmol of the Cp 2 TiCl 2 catalyst or 0.0064 mmol of catalyst per gram of polymer. The polymer solution was 10% by weight polymer. The proton NMR results of the 3 hour sample follow: After Hydrogenation Percent Hydrogenated 1,2-polybutadiene 0%w 100 1,4-polybutadiene 0.1%w 99.8 1,4-polyisoprene 3.4%w 46.7 3,4-polyisoprene 0.7%w 89.2 The total olefinic conversion was 95.6% and the remaining olefinic unsaturation was 0.6 meq/g. Example 10 The polymer of Example 7 was hydrogenated as described above with 2.5 mmol of titanium bis(cyclopentadienyl)dichloride catalyst or 0.016 mmol of catalyst per gram of polymer. The proton NMR results of the 3 hour sample follow: After Hydrogenation Percent Hydrogenated 1,2-polybutadiene 0%w 100 1,4-polybutadiene 0.1%w 99.8 1,4-polyisoprene 3.5%w 46.2 3,4-polyisoprene 1%w 84.6 The total olefinic conversion was 95.2% and the remaining olefinic unsaturation was 0.7 meq/g. Example 11 The polymer of Example 8 was hydrogenated as described above with 2.5 mmol of titanium bis(cyclopentadienyl)dichloride catalyst or 0.016 mmol of catalyst per gram of polymer. The proton NMR results of the 3 hour sample follow: After Hydrogenation Percent Hydrogenated 1,2-polybutadiene 0%w 100 1,4-polybutadiene 0.3%w 99.1 1,4-polyisoprene 9.7%w 19.2 3,4-polyisoprene 5.6%w 56.9 The total olefinic conversion was 83.6% and the remaining olefinic unsaturation was 2.3 meq/g. Comparative Example [Hydrogenation of methanol terminated polymer with nickel/ aluminium hydrogenation catalyst] This example shows that the Cp 2 TiCl 2 catalyst will selectively hydrogenate the ethylenic unsaturation which is not between doubly bound backbone carbons wherein at least one of the doubly bound carbons is substituted to a greater degree than a nickel/aluminium catalyst by comparison with Example 9. The nickel/aluminium catalyst was prepared in a cyclohexane solution by the reaction of nickel 2-ethyl-1-hexanoate and triethyl aluminium such that the molar ratio of the aluminum:nickel was 2.1. The hydrogenation run consisted of pressure transferring to a 4-litre reactor 780 grams of the 20% by weight solution of the polymer of Example 7 and 780 grams of cyclohexane so that the resulting polymer solution in the reactor was 10% by weight. The temperature of the reactor was maintained at 40 °C and the reactor pressure maintained at 5.8 bar (70 psig) with hydrogen. At this point, the nickel/aluminum catalyst was added to the reactor. The reaction was allowed to run for 3 hours, during which time samples were drawn from the reactor and analyzed by proton NMR to determine the remaining distribution of olefinic double bonds. The polymer of Example 7 was hydrogenated with 1 mmol nickel per gram of polymer. The proton NMR results of the 3 hour sample follow: After Hydrogenation Percent Hydrogenated 1,2-polybutadiene 0%w 100 1,4-polybutadiene 0.3%w 99.3 1,4-polyisoprene 2.5%w 61.5 3,4-polyisoprene 2.2%w 66.2 The total olefinic conversion was 94.7% and the remaining olefinic unsaturation was 0.7 meq/g. Comparing this example with Example 9, it is seen that the titanium catalyst hydrogenates more of the 3,4-polyisoprene and less of the 1,4-polyisoprene which is the desired result for partial hydrogenation.

Claims: Use of a catalyst of the formula for the purpose of selectively hydrogenating a conjugated diene polymer, which conjugated diene polymer has been prepared by a process which comprises: (a) copolymerizing at least one substituted conjugated diene and at least one unsubstituted conjugated diene with an organo-lithium polymerisation initiator in a suitable solvent thereby creating a living polymer comprising (1) ethylenic unsaturation between backbone carbons where at least one of the double bound backbone carbons is substituted and (2) ethylenic unsaturation which is not between backbone carbons where at least one of the double bound backbone carbons is substituted; and (b) terminating the polymerization; which hydrogenation process comprises contacting the polymer with hydrogen in the presence of no more than 0.02 millimoles of catalyst per gram of polymer of a catalyst of the formula: wherein R 1 and R 2 are the same or different and are selected from the group consisting of halogen groups, C 1 -C 8 alkyl and alkoxy groups, C 6 -C 9 aryloxy groups, aralkyl, cycloalkyl groups, silyl groups and carbonyl groups, while the lithium : titanium molar ratio during the hydrogenation is at least 2:1, for the purpose of hydrogenating the conjugated diene polymer such that at least 95% of the ethylenic unsaturation has been hydrogenated which is not between double bound backbone carbons wherein at least one is substituted, and no more than 40% of the ethylenic unsaturation has been hydrogenated which is between double bound backbone carbons wherein at least one is substituted. The use of claim 1, wherein the molar ratio of lithium : titanium is in the range of from 3 to 30. The use of claims 1 or 2 wherein the hydrogenation is carried out at a temperature from 0°C to 120°C and a pressure of from 1 to 84 bar and the contacting takes place for a period of time within the range from 15 to 1440 minutes. The use of claim 3 wherein the hydrogenation is carried out at a temperature from 25 to 90°C and a pressure from 4 to 21 bar and the contacting takes place for a period of time from 30 to 360 minutes. The use of claims 1-4, wherein the organo lithium compound is sec-butyllithium. A use according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the titanium compound is bis(cyclopentadienyl)titanium dichloride. A use according to any one of the claims 1 to 6, wherein the unsubstituted conjugated diene is butadiene and the substituted conjugated diene is isoprene. A use according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the conjugated dienes are copolymerized with a vinyl aromatic hydrocarbon in step (a), thus resulting in a conjugated diene-vinyl aromatic copolymer. The use of claim 8, wherein the vinyl aromatic hydrocarbon is styrene.

Inventors: CHAMBERLAIN LINDA RAE, GIBLER CARMA JOLEEN, HOXMEIER RONALD JAMES, CHAMBERLAIN, LINDA RAE, GIBLER, CARMA JOLEEN, HOXMEIER, RONALD JAMES
Applicants: SHELL INT RESEARCH, SHELL INTERNATIONALE RESEARCH MAATSCHAPPIJ B.V.
Application year: 1993
Main classification: C08C19
IPC codes: C08F36, C08C19, B01J31, C08F8