High throughput screen for identifying polymerization catalysts from potential catalysts

A screening method for high throughput screening of potential catalysts for polymerization performance for at least a second monomer, comprising:

• concurrently reacting a plurality of potential catalysts arrayed on a substrate with a first monomer and not the second monomer in a first reaction, the first and second monomers being different from each other and the first monomer being an olefin other than ethylene;
• determining a property of any polymer sample or polymerization mixture made during the first reaction at a rate of one hour or less per potential catalyst,
• identifying one or more catalysts from the potential polymerization catalysts based on the properties of the samples from the first reaction;
• and
• reacting the one or more identified catalysts with the first and second monomers under polymerization conditions in a second reaction.

A method of screening potential catalysts for polymerization performance wherein the polymerization performance of the potential catalysts is determined for at least a first monomer as a predictor for the polymerization performance of the potential catalysts for at least a second monomer, the first and second monomers being different from each other and the first monomer being an olefin other than ethylene, the method comprising:

• concurrently reacting an array of at least 8 potential polymerization catalysts that are different from each other with at least the first monomer and not the second monomer under polymerization conditions in a first reaction;
• determining the polymerization performance of each of the potential catalysts with the at least first monomer in the first reaction by analyzing products of the first reaction;
• and
• polymerizing the first and second monomers as copolymers or higher-order polymers in a second reaction using one of the catalysts in the array based upon the polymerization performance of the catalyst.