Alkene polymerization reactions with catalysts based on acetylacetonate complexes of vanadium and titanium: effect of cocatalyst

Alkene polymerization reactions were studied with three catalyst systems containing complexes of vanadium and titanium with the acetylacetonate ligand (V(acac)3, VO(acac)2, Ti(acac)2Cl2) and a binary activator, a combination of Al(C2H5)2Cl and Mg(C4H9)2 at an [Al]:[Mg] molar ratio of ca 3. All three catalysts are highly active in ethylene homopolymerization reactions. They copolymerize ethylene and 1‐hexene to random, compositionally uniform products with 1‐hexene content of up to 20–25%. The Ti(acac)2Cl2–Al(C2H5)2Cl/Mg(C4H9)2 combination is also an effective catalyst for propylene polymerization to an essentially atactic product. Gel permeation chromatography analysis showed that all the studied M(acac)n–Al(C2H5)2Cl/Mg(C4H9)2 catalysts contain several types of active centers which differ in the average molecular weight of polymer material they produce. © 2021 Society of Industrial Chemistry. Acetylacetonate complexes of vanadium and titanium activated with an Al(C2H5)2Cl/Mg(C4H9)2 combination are effective catalysts for homopolymerization of ethylene, and ethylene/1‐hexene copolymerization. The Ti(acac)2Cl2 complex also polymerizes propylene to atactic product.