A method for the preparation of crystalline polystyrene or copolymers of styrolmit other olefins

摘要

Crystalline polystyrene and copolymers of styrene with other olefins are made by polymerizing styrene having a soluble copper compound dissolved therein, alone or in admixture with another olefin in the presence of a medium containing a catalyst formed by reacting a hydrocarbon compound of aluminium, gallium, indium, thallium, or lead, with a tetravalent vanadium compound in a proportion of vanadium compound to hydrocarbon compound on a molar basis of less than 1.2 to 1. The polymers may be purified by treatment with an hydroxyl containing compound, e.g. water or steam, to decompose the catalytic material, adding an hydrocarbon solvent, and washing the mix with an alcohol containing mineral acid to remove the decomposed material. The preferred medium is an hydrocarbon solvent such as methyl cyclohexane. Suitable styrene soluble copper compounds are copper naphthenate, copper propionylacetonate, and copper hexoylacetonate. The vanadium compound may be vanadium tetrachloride and the hydrocarbon compound aluminium triethyl. Other olefines mentioned are ethylene, propylene, butene-1, butene-2, vinyl toluene, vinyl naphthalene, allyl benzene, 1 - vinylcyclohex - 3 - ene, butadiene and isoprene. The polymerization reaction is conducted at a temperature within the range -30 DEG to 70 DEG C. Specification 808,132 is referred to.