Characterization of Ethylene‐1‐Hexene Copolymers Made with Supported Metallocene Catalysts: Influence of Support Type

Abstract

Abstract Summary: It is known that the nature of the support, as well as the technique used to anchor the metallocene onto it, play important roles on catalytic activity and on the properties of the polymers produced with supported metallocenes. In the present work, the effect of different support types on the microstructure of ethylene/1‐hexene copolymers made with supported metallocene catalysts has been investigated through the analysis of molecular weight and chemical composition distributions using high temperature gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and crystallization analysis fractionation (Crystaf). The copolymer samples obtained using commercial carriers (silica and silica‐alumina) had unimodal chemical composition distributions and were used to create a linear calibration curve relating the peak crystallization temperature from Crystaf and the comonomer content as determined by 13 C NMR. This calibration curve is useful to determine the 1‐hexene fractions for each peak in the resins showing bimodal chemical composition distributions, such as those obtained with catalysts supported on MCM‐41 and SBA‐15 materials. The structure and chemistry of the support used had a large influence on comonomer incorporation and the shape of the chemical composition distribution of the polymer, which suggests that the supporting process creates different types of active sites.