Counterion effects on propylene polymerization using two-state ansa-metallocene complexes.

Propylene polymerization using unsymmetrical, ansa-metallocene complexes Me(2)Y(Ind)CpMMe(2) (Y = Si, C, M = Zr, Y = C, M = Hf) and the co-initiators methyl aluminoxane (PMAO), B(C(6)F(5))(3), and [Ph(3)C][B(C(6)F(5))(4)] was studied at a variety of propylene concentrations. Modeling of the polymer microstructure reveals that the catalysts derived from Me(2)Si(Ind)CpZrMe(2) and each of these co-initiators function under conditions where chain inversion is much faster than propagation (Curtin-Hammett conditions). Surprisingly, the microstructure of the PP formed was essentially unaffected by the nature of the counterion, suggesting similar values for the fundamental parameters inherent to two-state catalysts.