A Polymerization Kinetics Comparison between a Metallocene Catalyst Activated by Tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl) Borate and MAO for the Polymerization of Ethylene in a Semi‐batch Solution Reactor

This work investigates the effects of activator species on catalyst reactivity in the semi‐batch, solution polymerization of ethylene using rac‐dimethylsilyl‐bis(indenyl)hafnium dimethyl catalyst. The two activators compared are methylalumoxane and tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl) borate dimethylanilinium salt ([B(C6F5)4]–[Me2NHPh]+). For each of the catalyst/activator systems, monomer and activator concentrations were varied to gain a basic understanding of polymerization kinetics, allowing for direct comparison of each system. Copolymerization experiments involving 1‐octene were also carried out to further investigate the influence of activator type on copolymerization kinetics and products. magnified image