Titanium haude-organometal-organq- metal iodide catalyst for produc- tion of cis i,x-polybutadiene

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR PREPARING A RUBBERY POLYBUTADIENE CONTAINING IN THE RANGE OF 85 TO 98 PERCENT CIS 1,4-ADDITION WHICH COMPRISES CONTACTING 1,3-BUTADIENE WITH A CATALYST SYSTEM WHICH FORMS ON MIXING (1) AN ORGANOMETAL HAVING THE FORMULA RNM WHEREIN R IS SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF ALKYL, CYCLOALKYL, ARYL, CYCLOALKYLALKYL, ARALKYL, ALKYLCYCLOALKYL, ARYLCYCLOALKYL, ALKARYL AND CYCLOALKYLARYL RADICALS, EACH R GROUP CONTAIING UP TO AND INCLUDING 20 CARBON ATOMS, M IS A METAL SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF MAGNESIUM AND ALUMINUM AND N IS AN INTEGER EQUAL TO THE VALENCE OF METAL, M, (2) A TITANIUM TETRAHALIDE SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF TITANIUM TETRACHLORIDE AND TITANIUM TETRABROMIDE, AND (3) AN ORGANOMETAL IODIDE OF THE FORMULA RXM''YIZ WHEREIN R IS AN ORGANIC RADICAL AS HEREINBEFORE DEFINED, M'' IS A METAL SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF ZINC, CADMIUM, MERCURY, ALUMINUM, GALLIUM, INDIUM, AND THALLIUM, I IS IODINE, X AND Z ARE INTEGERS FROM 1 TO 3 AND Y IS AN INTEGER FROM 1 TO 2 AND WHEN Y=1, X+Z=THE VALENCE OF METAL M'' AND WHEN Y=2, X+Z=TWICE THE VALENCE OF METAL M'', THE MOLE RATIO OF THE RNMG COMPOUND TO SAID TITANIUM TETRAHALIDE BEING IN THE RANGE OF 1.05:1 TO 2:1, THE MOLE RATIO OF THE RNAL COMPOUND TO SAID TITANIUM TETRAHALIDE BEING IN THE RANGE OF 2:1 TO 20:1, THE MOLE RATIO OF SAID TITANIUM TETRAHALIDE TO SAID ORGANOMETAL IODIDE COMPOUND BEING IN THE RANGE OF 0.05:1 TO 0.7:1, SAID CONTACTING OCCURRING IN THE PRESENCE OF A HYDROCARBON DILUENT AT A TEMPERATURE RANGE OF -100 TO 250*C. AND UNDER AUTOGENOUS PRESSURE; AND RECOVERING THE RUBBERY CIS-POLYBUTADIENE SO PRODUCED.