Stereospecific polymerization of higher α-olefins with the solvay type catalyst TiCl3/Cp2Ti(CH3)2

Polymerizations of higher α-olefins (C₁₀–C₂₀) were carried out at 40°C in heptane, using the following three catalysts which differ in the isospecificity for propene polymerization: Solvay type TiCl₃/Cp₂TiMe₂((A) highly isospecific), Solvay type TiCl₃/AlEt₃((B) isospecific) and TiCl₃.3Py/MgCl₂/AlEt₃((C) aspecific). The isospecificity of the catalysts was found to decrease in the following order: (A) ? (B) ? (C), which agrees well with the results obtained in propene polymerization. The crystallinity of these polymers is discussed in brief.