Copolymerization of ethylene with 1-hexene over vanadium catalysts immobilized on sol-gel silica

Silica-type materials with different structure and morphology, synthesized using sol-gel process, were applied as a carriers of organometallic catalytic systems (VOCl3/AlEt2Cl) for ethylene-1-hexene copolymerization. Carrier materials, prior to immobilization of the vanadium compound, were pre-treated using two modes: one-step thermal modification and two-steps modification including additional reaction with AlEt2Cl. It was found that the carrier's type and way of it's modification significantly influence the catalysts activity in ethylene-1-hexene copolymerization as well as the incorporation of higher 1-olefin. The favourable effect of two-step modification mode on the catalysts activity and 1-hexene incorporation efficiency was proposed.