Patent ID: 8372925

Claim:
A process for forming conjugated diene polymer, the process comprising the step of: polymerizing conjugated diene monomer in the presence of a catalytically effective amount of a catalyst composition formed by combining: (a) a nickel-containing compound selected from the group consisting of nickel carboxylates, nickel carboxylate borates, nickel organophosphates, nickel organophosphonates, nickel organophosphinates, nickel carbamates, nickel dithiocarbamates, nickel xanthates, nickel β-diketonates, nickel alkoxides or aryloxides, nickel halides, nickel pseudo-halides, nickel oxyhalides, and organonickel compounds; (b) an alkylating agent; (c) a fluorine-containing compound selected from the group consisting of elemental fluorine, halogen fluorides, hydrogen fluoride, organic fluorides, inorganic fluorides, metallic fluorides, organometallic fluorides, and mixtures thereof, where the fluorine-containing compound is complexed with an ether, alcohol, water, aldehyde, ketone, ester, nitrile, or combinations thereof; (d) a carboxylic acid; and (e) an alcohol, where said step of polymerizing takes place within a non-polar solvent, where the molar ratio of said alkylating agent to said nickel-containing compound (alkylating agent/Ni) is from about 1:1 to about 200:1, where the molar ratio of said fluorine-containing compound to said nickel-containing compound (F/Ni) is from about 7:1 to about 500:1, where the molar ratio of said carboxylic acid to said nickel-containing compound (COOH/Ni) is from about 0.1:1 to about 2:1, and where the molar ratio of said alcohol to said nickel-containing compound (OH/Ni) is from about 0.4:1 to about 80:1, and where said step of polymerizing employs from about 0.01 to about 0.1 mmole of nickel-containing compound per 100 g of conjugated diene monomer, where said step of combining includes pre-combining the nickel-containing compound, the alkylating agent, the carboxylic acid, and the alcohol to form a pre-combined mixture followed by the step of combining the fluorine-containing compound with the pre-combined mixture.