Tailoring polypropylene properties by package of internal/external donor in Ziegler-Natta catalysts

Insights have been developed into the influence of different structures, including bismethoxymethylfluorene (B) and 2,2-diisopropyl succinate (I), on both internal donor (ID) and external donor (ED) roles on the performance of MgCl2/ID/TiCl4. Catalyst performance including activity, hydrogen response, molecular weight distribution and thermal properties is explained through the coordination nature of external donors and its correlation with the internal donor. Replacement of the typical alkoxysilane ED with B and I leads to an overall decrease in activity, which is more pronounced (average 1.4 times) in systems with similar structures as ID and ED. However, these compounds significantly enhance hydrogen response. The use of B as ED leads to an average 1.5-fold increase in MFI and usage of I as ED results in an average 1.1 times increase in MFI. Changing the ED influenced the thermal properties so that in the catalyst with the succinate structure as ID, altering the ED from alkoxysilane to I, leads to an increase in crystallinity from 43.86% to 48.12%. These findings suggest that the choice of package of internal and external donor can significantly influence the resulting polymer characteristics.