Immobilization and activation of a single-site chromium catalyst for ethylene polymerization using MgCl2/AlRn(OEt)3 - n supports

Summary: The effective immobilization and activation of a single-site chromium catalyst for ethylene polymerization has been achieved using MgCl2/AlRn(OEt)3 - n supports, without the use of methylaluminoxane (MAO) or a borate activator. High catalyst activity and a spherical polyethylene-particle morphology is obtained. Furthermore, the single-site characteristics of the catalyst are retained, the narrow molecular weight distribution of the polymers obtained are apparent from gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and confirmed by rheological characterization.