Bimetallic catalyst for ethylene polymerization reactions with uniform component distribution

A process for uniformly dispersing a transition metal metallocene complex on a carrier material, the process comprising:

• (i) providing silica which is porous and has a particle size of 1 to 250 μm, having pores which have an average diameter of 50 to 500 Å and having a pore volume of 0.5 to 5.0 cm3/g;
• (ii) slurrying the silica in an aliphatic solvent having a boiling point lower than 100° C.;
• (iii) contacting the silica slurry with an organomagnesium compound represented by the formula RMgR′ in an amount to provide 0.2 mmol to 2.0 mmol Mg/g silica, to form an intermediate, wherein each of said R and R′ is the same or different and is a C2-C12 alkyl;
• treating the intermediate with an alcohol, R″OH, in an amount or from 0.2 to 1.5 mol/mol of the organomagnesium compound, wherein R″ contains 1 to 12 carbons, and thereafter contacting the alcohol-treated intermediate with a non-metallocene transition metal compound;
• (iv) providing a volume of a solution comprising a metallocene compound and alumoxane in an aromatic solvent, wherein the volume of said solution is less than that required to form a slurry of said silica, and wherein the concentration of alumoxane, expressed as Al weight percent, is 5 to 20;
• (v) contacting the product of (iii) with said volume of said solution of (iv) and allowing the solution to impregnate the pores of the silica and to disperse the metallocene compound in and on the carrier;
• and
• (vi) evaporating solvents to recover dry free-flowing catalyst particles.