Structure-Property Relationships of Ethylene/1 -Octene and Ethylene/1-Butene Copolymers Made Using Insite Technology

The structure-property relationships of homogeneous ethylene/1-butene copolymers made using INSITE * Technology-also called constrained geometry catalyst technology (CGCT)-are explored and compared with Dow’s current AFFINITY * polyolefin elastomers, which are ethylene/1-octene copolymers. The well defined molecular architecture of these copolymers allows one to explore the comonomer effect with greater precision. The preformance of ethylene/butene and ethylene/octene copolymers with densities of 0.91 and 0.92 g/cc are emphasized. Ethylene/1-octene copolymers produced by CGCT have improved tear, impact and tensile properties, relative to ethylene/1-butene copolymers produced by CGCT. These improved physical properties were observed in both compression molded plaques and blown film samples. This study confirms the general trend of improved physical properties with increasing α-olefin branch length.