POLYMERIZATION OF A STYRENE AND ETHYLENE MIXTURE WITH A TRICHLORO(2,6-DI-TERT-BUTYLPHENOXY)TITANIUM METHYLALUMINOXANE CATALYST SYSTEM

A homogenous titanium halide catalyst containing one bulky phenoxy ligand was synthesized by the reaction of a lithium salt of 2,6-di-tert-butylphenol and TiCl4. The complex was tested, with methylaluminoxane as cocatalyst, in the copolymerization of ethylene and styrene. The reaction product was not a copolymer but a mixture of polyethylene and atactic polystyrene. The formation of two fractions may indicate the presence of several active species in the catalyst or a different polymerization mechanism for the two monomers.