Production of hydrocarbon-soluble hydrocarbylaluminoxanes

Abstract

Novel aluminum-containing compositions having increased paraffin-solubility are produced from a methylaluminoxane composition having lower paraffin-solubility. These compositions are formed by mixing in liquid phase (A) at least one aluminum trialkyl (or solution or suspension formed therefrom), where the aluminum trialkyl has at least 30 carbon atoms in the molecule, where each alkyl group thereof is bifurcated in the 2-position into a pair of branches, where one such branch has n carbon atoms and the other such branch has at least n+2 carbon atoms, and where n is at least 3; and (B) at least one methylaluminoxane composition having lower heptane-solubility (or a solution or slurry formed therefrom). Preferably, the resultant mixture is agitated at one or more elevated temperatures at which the mixture becomes even more homogeneous. The aluminum trialkyl preferably is one or more in which there are at least 36 carbon atoms in the molecule, in which n is at least 4 and in which the longer branch of the bifurcated alkyl groups has n+2 carbon atoms.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.