MgCl₂‐supported Ziegler–Natta catalyst containing dibenzoyl sulfide donor for propylene polymerization

Abstract

ABSTRACT Polypropylene (PP) was synthesized in the presence of Ziegler–Natta catalysts composed of MgCl 2 ‐TiCl 4 ‐internal donor/AlR 3 ‐external donor. Diisobutyl phthalate is a well‐known internal donor in current PP production. Nevertheless, phthalates are often blamed as endocrine disruptors. The objective is to find an ecofriendly internal donor producing PP with maintaining its physical properties. When using dibenzoyl sulfide, synthesized PP shows the superiority to diisobutyl phthalate in the activity of catalyst (40 vs. 22 kg PP/g catalyst), the isotacticity of polymer (99.5 vs. 98.0 wt % of heptane insolubles), and the molecular weight distribution of PP product ( M w / M n = 4.8 vs. 4). © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131 , 40743.