Patent ID: 8722817

Claim:
A process, comprising: (A) polymerizing ethylene in the presence of a catalyst to form a crystalline ethylene-based polymer having a crystallinity of at least 50% as determined by DSC Crystallinity in a first reactor or a first part of a multi-part reactor; and (B) reacting the crystalline ethylene-based polymer of (A) with additional ethylene in the presence of a free-radical initiator to form an ethylenic polymer in at least one other reactor or a later part of a multi-part reactor, wherein the catalyst of (A) is a metal complex of a polyvalent aryloxyether corresponding to the formula: where M 3 is Hf or Zr; Ar 4 independently each occurrence is a substituted C 9-20 aryl group, wherein the substituents, independently each occurrence, are selected from the group consisting of alkyl; cycloalkyl; and aryl groups; and halo-, trihydrocarbylsilyl- and halohydrocarbyl-substituted derivatives thereof, with the proviso that at least one substituent lacks co-planarity with the aryl group to which it is attached; T 4 independently each occurrence is a C 2-20 alkylene, cycloalkylene or cycloalkenylene group, or an inertly substituted derivative thereof; R 21 independently each occurrence is hydrogen, halo, hydrocarbyl, trihydrocarbylsilyl, trihydrocarbylsilylhydrocarbyl, alkoxy or di(hydrocarbyl)amino group of up to 50 atoms not counting hydrogen; R 3 independently each occurrence is hydrogen, halo, hydrocarbyl, trihydrocarbylsilyl, trihydrocarbylsilylhydrocarbyl, alkoxy or amino of up to 50 atoms not counting hydrogen, or two R 3 groups on the same arylene ring together or an R 3 and an R 21 group on the same or different arylene ring together form a divalent ligand group attached to the arylene group in two positions or join two different arylene rings together; and R D , independently each occurrence is halo or a hydrocarbyl or trihydrocarbylsilyl group of up to 20 atoms not counting hydrogen, or 2 R D groups together are a hydrocarbylene, hydrocarbadiyl, diene, or poly(hydrocarbyl)silylene group.