Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol.68, No.4, 535-541, 1998
Synthesis and characterization of EPDM films
A series of ethylene-propylene-2-ethylidenebicyclo[2.2.1]hept-5-ene terpolymers have been prepared using the VOCl3/Al2Et3Cl3 catalyst under various initial Al/V ratios and diene concentrations. The V/C and Al/V ratios in EPDM films were determined by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry. The concentration of incorporated vanadium increases with the increase of the iodine number, i.e., with the number of double bonds in the polymer. However, the concentration of incorporated V in the terpolymers remains relatively low, which is attributed to the small percentage of V(III) active species due to the presence of the diene. On the other hand, the Al/V molar ratio in the terpolymers was seen to be roughly constant (between 6 and 8), independent of the iodine number and of the initial Al/V molar ratio in the reaction mixture. The polymerization yield was seen to increase with the augmentation of the initial Al/V ratio and of the diene concentration, until reaching a maximum of about 500 g polymer/g V.