Supported ionic catalyst composition

Abstract

The invention is directed to a catalyst composition suitable for addition reactions of ethylenically and acetylenically unsaturated monomers comprising a metal oxide support having covalently bound to the surface thereof directly through the oxygen atom of the metal oxide an activator anion that is also ionically bound to a catalytically active transition metal cation compound. The invention includes a preparation process for the invention catalyst composition exemplified by reacting a Lewis acid, such as trisperflourophenyl boron with residual silanol groups of a silica support, preferably then reacting with a Lewis base such as diethylaniline, so as to prepare a silica bound anionic activator that when combined with a suitable transition metal compound will protonate it so as to form the ionic catalyst system. Use of the invention catalyst to polymerize alpha-olefins is exemplified.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.