Polyolefins with high glass transition temperatures

The copolymerization of propene and norbornene with the isospecific metallocene catalyst dimethylsilylenebis(η5‐inden‐1‐yl)zirconium dichloride/methylaluminoxane ((CH3)2Si[Ind]2ZrCl2/MAO) was investigated. Because of the surprisingly high reactivity of the cyclic olefin copolymers with a norbornene content of 11 mol‐% up to 98 mol‐% were synthesized. The resulting copolymers are amorphous. The glass transition temperatures studied by differential scanning calorimetry measurements increase with rising norbornene content in the copolymer. High glass transition temperatures of Tg > 240°C were found for the copolymers with the highest content of norbornene.