Activity Enhancement of MgCl2-supported Ziegler-Natta Catalysts by Lewis-acid Pre-treatment for Ethylene Polymerization

Ziegler-Natta precatalysts were synthetized from Lewis-base-modified-MgCl2 supports and treated by various Lewis acids, prior to activation by triethylaluminum, in order to increase their activity in ethylene polymerization. BCl3 provided the highest increase in activity. Interestingly, polymerization results showed no substantial modification of polymer properties, which is consistent with that Lewis acid only promotes the creation of new active sites, after activation by TEA, possessing very similar features to the original ones achievable with conventional precatalysts (i.e. without Lewis-acid treatment).