MONOMER-ISOMERIZATION POLYMERIZATION .22. ISOMERIZATION AND POLYMERIZATION OF PROPENYLBENZENE WITH VARIOUS ZIEGLER-NATTA CATALYSTS

The isomerization and polymerization of propenylbenzene (BP) with various Ziegler-Natta catalyst systems have been investigated. With the TiCl//3-(C//2H//5)//3Al(Al/Ti greater than 2. 0) catalyst at 80 degree C, PB polymerized to give a polymer exclusively consisting of allylbenzene (AB) unit. During the polymerization, AB, which polymerized readily with the catalyst, was produced through isomerization of PB, indicating that PB underwent monomer-isomerization polymerization. PB also polymerized with isomerization to AB in the presence of TiCl//3-(C//2H//5)//2AlCl-NiCl//2 catalyst system, and a copolymer with PB and AB units was obtained. It was concluded that the structure of the polymers produced from PB widely changed, depending on the catalyst systems used, which determine the rate of isomerization to AB and the polymerization reactivity of the PB and AB isomers formed.