Site count: is a high-pressure quenched-flow reactor suitable for kinetic studies of molecular catalysts in ethylene polymerization?

Understanding the kinetics of olefin polymerization with Ziegler-Natta and related catalysts means identifying the main kinetic parameters such as k(p) and concentration of active sites. The high-pressure quenched-flow technique could be an absolute method for counting active sites and for activation studies of molecular catalysts. A kinetic study of metallocene catalysts and a phenoxy-imine titanium catalyst in the first instants of polymerization is presented in this paper.

Supercritical behavior in free radical polymerization of ethylene in the medium pressure range.

Free radical polymerization of ethylene in an intermediate pressure and temperature range (P(ethylene) < 250 bar and 50 °C < T < 90 °C) in the presence of an organic solvent has been studied. Under selected conditions (P, T) and according to the amount of organic solvent added, either a supercritical monophasic or a biphasic medium is obtained. In the case of a biphasic medium, polymerization occurred in the liquid phase in which radical initiator and ethylenes are dissolved.