The Effect of Feeding Sequence on the Structure and Properties of the Ethylene/1-Octene Copolymer in the Semi-Continuous Polymerization Reaction System

Abstract

The performance of ethylene/1-octene copolymer primarily depends on the microstructure of the polymer chain. This study employed a new method to control the inter-distribution of hexyl chain branches directly on the backbone of the ethylene/1-octene copolymer. Three ethylene/1-octene copolymers with different inter-distributions of hexyl chain branches were synthesized using [Me2Si(C5Me4) (NtBu)] TiCl2 (Ti–CGC) by different feeding sequences in the semi-continuous polymerization reaction system. The three copolymers were named according to the feeding sequence of the materials: ethylene/1-octene/Ti–CGC (EOC), 1-octene/Ti–CGC/ethylene (OCE), and ethylene/Ti–CGC/1-octene (ECO), respectively. The structure and properties of the copolymers were characterized using HT-GPC, 13C-NMR, DSC, WAXD, DMA, MI, and Uniaxial Tension Test. The results showed that the feeding sequence greatly affected the comonomer distribution of the molecular chains, molecular weight, molecular weight distribution, and chemical composition of the copolymers, consequently influencing their thermal performance and mechanical properties. Thus, it is probable that one could obtain an ethylene/1-octene copolymer with designed properties by controlling the feeding sequence during the ethylene/1-octene semi-continuous copolymerization process.