Polymerization oftert-butyl methacrylate with Ni(acac)2-methylaluminoxane catalyst

The polymerization of tert-butyl methacrylate (tBMA) with nickel(II) acetylacetonate [Ni-(acac)2] in combination with methylaluminoxane (MAO) was investigated. The binary catalyst is necessary to initiate the polymerization, however, high MAO/Ni mole ratios are not necessary to obtain high catalytic activity. A linear dependence of the molecular weight of the resulting polymers on polymer yield was observed, and the polydispersities of the polymers were relative narrow. The triad tacticity for the polymer obtained was determined to be mm = 3%, mr = 43%, rr = 54%.