Monitoring the chemical heterogeneity of metallocenecatalysed copolymers of ethylene and higher 1-olefins using CRYSTAF and SEC-FTIR

Abstract

Copolymers of ethylene with 1-decene, 1-tetradecene and 1-octadecene were prepared using the catalyst system racEt[Ind]2ZrCl2/MAO and were analysed with regard to chemical heterogeneity using crystallisation analysis fractionation (CRYSTAF), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and size exclusion chromatography coupled to FTIR (SEC-FTIR). The melting and crystallisation temperatures from DSC decrease linearly with increasing amount of comonomer, independently of the nature thereof. The decrease in crystallisation temperature from CRYSTAF of copolymers with higher 1-olefin content indicates a small dependence on the length of the side chain. The chemical heterogeneity of the copolymers as analysed by DSC and CRYSTAF broadens with increasing comonomer concentration.