Patent ID: 8883943

Claim:
A process for cationic polymerization, comprising: (1) forming a polymerization system comprising: an initiating system comprising at least one initiator, at least one additive, at least one Lewis acid and at least one optional diluent, wherein said at least one additive is an organic compound comprising at least one atom chosen from nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, and phosphor atoms, and said at least one Lewis acid has a formula chosen from MX n and YR n-m X m , wherein M is chosen from B, Al, Sn, Ti, Fe, Sb, and Zn; X is chosen from F, Cl, and Br; n is 2, 3, 4, or 5; m is 1, 2, or 3; Y is chosen from Al, Sn, Ti, and Zn; and R is chosen from alkyl, aryl, arylalkyl, and alkylaryl, optionally substituted by at least one halo substituent; an aqueous reaction medium, comprising 100% water by volume thereof; at least one isoolefin monomer and at least one optional copolymerizable monomer; and at least one optional dispersant; and (2) polymerizing the polymerization system formed in step (1), to obtain a homopolymer of the at least one isoolefin monomer or a copolymer of the at least one isoolefin monomer and the at least one optional copolymerizable monomer.