Process of producing ring-opening polymerization products

Claim 2

In the process for producing a ringopening polymerization product comprising polymerizing a monomer selected from the group consisting of a norbornene derivative containing at least one polar group or aromatic group, a norbornadiene derivative containing at least one of said groups and a cycloolefin, the improvement comprising polymerizing said monomer in the presence of a catalyst system prepared from (A) an organometallic compound containing at least one metal selected from the group consisting of metals of Groups IA, IIA, IIB, IIIB, IVA and IVB of the periodic table and (B) the reaction product of at least one oxide selected from the group consisting of tungsten oxide and molybdenum oxide and from 0.001 to 100 moles per mole of said oxide of at least one phosphorus compound selected from the group consisting of phosphorus pentahalide and phosphorus oxytrihalide; the molar ratio of the component (A) to the component (B) being 0.1 to 100, and said catalyst system being present in the ring-opening polymerization system in an amount of 0.001 - 100 gram atom calculated as tungsten or molybdenum contained in said catalyst system per 1,000 moles of said monomer.

Claim 3

The process of claim 1 wherein said monomer is a norbornene derivative containing at least one nitrile group.

Claim 4

The process of claim 2 wherein said norbornene derivative is represented by the formula (I) ##STR24## wherein W 1 , X 1 , Y 1 , and Z 1 , which may be the same or different, each represents a hydrogen atom, a nitrile group or a hydrocarbon group selected from the group consisting of an alkyl group having at most 20 carbon atoms, a cycloalkyl group having at most 20 carbon atoms, an alkenyl group having at most 20 carbon atoms, an aryl group having at most 20 carbon atoms and said hydrocarbon groups substituted by a nitrile group, at least one of W 1 , X 1 , Y 1 , and Z 1 being a nitrile group or said hydrocarbon group substituted with a nitrile group.

Claim 5

The process of claim 3, wherein said norborene derivative is 5-cyano-bicyclo[2,2,1]-heptene-2; 5,5-dicyano-bicyclo [2,2,1]-heptene-2; 5,6-dicyano-bicyclo [2,2,1]-heptene-2; 5-cyano-5-methyl-bicyclo[2,2,1]-heptene-2; 5-cyano-6-methyl-bicyclo[2,2,1]-heptene-2; or 5-cyanomethyl-bicyclo[2,2,1]-heptene-2.

Claim 6

The process of claim 1, wherein said monomer is a norbornene derivative containing at least one ester group.

Claim 7

The process of claim 5, wherein said norbornene derivative is 5-methoxycarbonyl-bicyclo [2,2,1]-heptene-2; 5-ethoxycarbonyl-bicyclo [2,2,1]-heptene-2; 5-butoxycarbonyl-bicyclo[2,2,1]-heptene-2; 5-allyloxy-carbonyl-bicyclo[2,2,1]-heptene-2; 5-methyl-5-methoxycarbonyl-bicyclo[2,2,1]-heptene-2; 5-methoxycarbonyl-6-methoxycarbonyl-methyl-bicyclo[2,2,1]-heptene-2; 5,6-dimethyoxycarbonyl-bicyclo[2,2,1]-heptene-2; 5,6-diethoxycarbonyl-bicyclo[2,2,1]-heptene-2; 5,5-dibutoxycarbonyl-bicyclo[2,2,1]-heptene-2; 5-acetoxymethyl-bicyclo[2,2,1]-heptene-2; 5-propoxymethyl-bicyclo [2,2,1]-heptene-2 or 5-stearoxymethyl-bicyclo[2,2,1]-heptene-2.

Claim 8

The process of claim 1, wherein said monomer is a norbornene derivative containing at least one ether group.

Claim 9

The process of claim 7, wherein said norbornene derivative is 5-methoxymethyl-bicyclo[2,2,1]-heptene-2.

Claim 10

The process of claim 1, wherein said monomer is a norbornene derivative containing at least one halogen atom.

Claim 11

The process of claim 9, wherein said norbornene derivative is 5-chloro-bicyclo[2,2,1]-heptene-2; 5-chloro-5-methyl-bicyclo[2,2,1]-heptene-2; 5- chloro-6-methyl-bicyclo[2,2,1]-heptene-2; 5-chloromethyl-bicyclo[2,2,1]-heptene-2; 5,5-dichlorobicyclo[2,2,1]-heptene-2; 5,6-dichloro-bicyclo[2,2,1]-heptene-2; 5,5-bis(chloromethyl)-bicyclo[2,2,1]-heptene-2; or 5,6-bis(chloromethyl)-bicyclo[2,2,1]-heptene-2.

Claim 12

The process of claim 1, wherein said monomer is a norbornene derivative containing at least one acid anhydride group.

Claim 13

The process of claim 11, wherein said norbornene derivative is 3,6-methylene-1,2,3,6-tetrahydro-cis-phthalic anhydride; 5,8-methano-1,2,3,4,4a,5,8,8a-octahydronaphthalene-2,3,-dicarboxylic anhydride; 1,4,5,8-dimethano-1,2,3,4,4a,5,8,8a-octahydronaphthalene-2,3-dicarboxylic anhydride; or 3,6-methano-1-methyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydro-cis-phthalic acid anhydride.

Claim 14

The process of claim 1, wherein said monomer is a norbornene derivative containing at least one imide group.

Claim 15

The process of claim 13, wherein said norbornene derivative is N-methyl-3,6-methylene-1,2,3,6-tetrahydro-cis-phthalimide; N-ethyl-3,6-methylene-1,2,3,6-tetrahydro-cis-phthalimide; N-propyl-3,6-methylene-1,2,3,6-tetrahydro-cis-phthalimide; N-n-butyl-3,6-methylene-1,2,3,6-tetrahydro-cis-phthalimide; N-octyl-3,6-methylene-1,2,3,6-tetrahydro-cis-phthalimide, N-cyclohexyl-3,6-methylene-1,2,3,6-tetrahydro-cis-phthalimide; N-phenyl-3,6-methylene-1,2,3,6-tetrahydro-cis-phthalimide or N-octyl-1,4,5,8-dimethano-1,2,3,4,4a,5,8,8a-octahydronaphthalene-2,3-dicarboxyimide.

Claim 16

The process of claim 1, wherein said monomer is 1,4-dihydro-1,4-methanonaphthalene.

Claim 17

The process of claim 1, wherein said monomer is cyclopentene, 1,5-cyclooctadiene or bicyclo[2,2,1]-heptene-2.

Claim 18

The process of claim 1, wherein said organometallic compound is represented by the formula MR.sub.n wherein M represents the metal belonging to group IA, IIA, IIB, IIIB, IVA, or IVB of the periodic table; R represents an organic group having at most 20 carbon atoms selected from an alkyl group, an alkenyl group, an aryl group, an aralkyl group, an alkoxide group, a phenoxy group, and a cyclopentadienyl group, a hydrogen atom, or a halogen atom, the groups represented by R n may be the same or different and at least one of said groups is the organic group; n represents the maximum atomic valence number of said metal or a positive integer of less than the maximum atomic valence number.

Claim 19

The process of claim 17, wherein M represents aluminum.

Claim 20

The process of claim 18, wherein said organometallic compound is triethylaluminum or diethylaluminum chloride.

Claim 21

The process of claim 1, wherein said organometallic compound is aluminum siloxane represented by the formula ##STR25## wherein R 27 , R 28 and R 29 , which may be the same or different, each represents a halogen atom, an alkyl group having at most 10 carbon atoms, or an alkoxy groups having at most 10 carbon atoms; R 30 represents an alkyl group having at most 10 carbon atoms; and R 31 represents an alkyl group having at most 10 carbon atoms, an alkoxy group having at most 10 carbon atoms, or a substituent having the formula ##STR26## where R 32 , R 33 and R 34 , which may be the same or different, each has the same meaning as R 27 , R 28 and R 29 above and n is a positive integer less than 10.

Claim 22

The process of claim 20, wherein said aluminum siloxalane is diethyl aluminum triethylsiloxalane.

Claim 23

The process of claim 1, wherein said organometallic compound is a dialumoxane compound represented by the formula ##STR27## wherein R 39 , R 40 and R 41 , which may be the same or different, each represents a halogen atom, an alkyl group having at most 10 carbon atoms, or an alkoxy group having at most 10 carbon atoms and R 42 represents an alkyl group having at most 10 carbon atoms.

Claim 24

The process of claim 22, wherein said dialumoxane compound is tetraethyl dialumoxane.

Claim 25

The process of claim 1, wherein said oxide is tungsten trioxide or molybdenum trioxide.

Claim 26

The process of claim 1, wherein said phosphorus compound is phosphorus pentachloride, phosphorus pentabromide, phosphorus pentafluoride, or phosphorus oxytrichloride.

Claim 27

The process of claim 1, wherein said reaction product is prepared at a temperature of 0° to 250° C in an inert organic solvent.

Claim 28

The process of claim 1, wherein said ring-opening polymerization is carried out in the presence of an unsaturated polymer having carbon-carbon double bonds.

Claim 29

The process of claim 1, wherein said ring-opening polymerization is carried out in the presence of a molecular weight controlling agent.

Claim 30

The process of claim 1, wherein said catalyst system is prepared from the organometallic compound, the reaction product, and further a third component selected from the group consisting of water, oxygen, an oxygen-containing organic compound, a nitrogen-containing organic compound, a halogen-containing organic compound, a phosphorus-containing compound, a sulfur-containing compound, a metal-containing organic compound, a metal hydroxide, a metal oxide, a metal halide, a metal chelate compound, a metal salt and a reactive group-containing polymer.

Claim 31

The process of claim 29, wherein said phosphorus-containing compound is a phosphate compound.

Claim 32

The process of claim 30, wherein said phosphate compound is a halogen-containing phosphate compound represented by the formula (R.sup.43 O) (R.sup.44 O) (R.sup.45 O)P ═ O wherein R 43 , R 44 and R 45 , which may be the same or different, each represents a hydrocarbon group having at most 20 carbon atoms or halogen-substituted hydrocarbon groups having at most 20 carbon atoms, at least one of said R 43 , R 44 and R 45 being a hydrocarbon group substituted with at least one halogen atom.

Claim 33

The process of claim 31, wherein said a halogen-containing phosphate compound is selected from the group consisting of tris(β-Chloro-ethyl) phosphate, tris(β-bromo-ethyl) phosphate, tris(2,3-dichloro-n-propyl) phosphate, tris(2,3-dibromo-n-propyl) phosphate, tris(2-bromo-3-chloro-n-propyl) phosphate, tris(3-chloro-n-propyl) phosphate, tris(dichloroisopropyl) phosphate and tris(2,4-dichloro-phenyl) phosphate.

Claim 34

The process of claim 5 wherein said norbornene derivative is one of the compounds represented by general formulae (II), (III), (IV) and (V): ##STR28## wherein W 2 , X 2 , Y 2 and Z 2 in general formula (II) and W 3 , X 3 , Y 3 and Z 3 in general formula (III) and W 5 , X 5 , Y 5 and Z 5 in general formula (V), which may be the same or different, each represents a hydrogen atom, an ester group represented by the general formulae --COOR 1 or --OCOR 1 wherein R 1 represents a hydrocarbon group having at most 20 carbon atoms, an ester group-substituted hydrocarbon residue represented by the general formulae --R 2 COOR 3 or --R 2 OCOR 3 wherein R 3 has the same meaning as R 1 and R 2 represents a divalent hydrocarbon group having at most 20 carbon atoms, or a hydrocarbon group having at most 20 carbon atoms, at least one of said W 2 , X 2 , Y 2 and Z 2 and W 3 , X 3 , Y 3 and Z 3 and W 5 , X 5 , Y 5 and Z 5 being said ester group or said ester group-substituted hydrocarbon residue; wherein A represents --COO--R 4 -OOC-- or --COOR 5 wherein R 4 and R 5 each represents an alkylene group having at most 20 carbon atoms; and wherein W 4 and Z 4 in formula (IV), which may be the same or different, each represents a hydrogen atom or a hydrocarbon group having at most 20 carbon atoms.

Claim 35

The process of claim 7 wherein said norbornene derivative is one of the compounds represented by the general formulae (VI), (VII) and (VIII): ##STR29## wherein W 6 , X 6 , Y 6 and Z 6 in general formula (VI) and W 7 , X 7 , Y 7 and Z 7 in general formula (VII), which may be the same or different, each represents a hydrogen atom, an ether group, a hydrocarbon group having at most 20 carbon atoms or an ether group-substituted hydrocarbon residue of the formula --R 7 OR 6 wherein R 6 represents a hydrocarbon group having at most 20 carbon atoms and R 7 represents a divalent hydrocarbon group having at most 20 carbon atoms, at least one of said W 6 , X 6 , Y 6 and Z 6 and W 7 , X 7 , Y 7 and Z 7 being said ether group or said ether group-substituted hydrocarbon residue; wherein B represents --R 8 OR 9 or --R 10 O-- wherein R 8 , R 9 and R 10 , which may be the same or different, each represents a hydrocarbon group having at most 20 carbon atoms; and wherein W 8 and Z 8 in general formula (VIII), which may be the same or different, each represents a hydrogen atom or a hydrocarbon group having at most 20 carbon atoms.

Claim 36

The process of claim 9 wherein said norbornene derivative is one of the compounds represented by general formulae (XI) and (XII): ##STR30## wherein W 11 , X 11 , Y 11 and Z 11 in general formula (XI) and W 12 , X 12 , Y 12 and Z 12 in general formula (XII), which may be the same or different, each represents a hydrogen atom, a chlorine atom, a bromine atom, a hydrocarbon group having at most 20 carbon atoms or a hydrocarbon residue having at most 20 carbon atoms and substituted by at least one chlorine or bromine atom, at least one of said W 11 , X 11 , Y 11 and Z 11 and W 12 , X 12 , Y 12 and Z 12 being a chlorine or bromine atom or said hydrocarbon residue.

Claim 37

The process of claim 11 wherein said norbornene derivative is one of the compounds represented by the general formulae (XIII) or (XIV): ##STR31## wherein W 13 and Z 13 in general formula (XIII) and W 14 and X 14 in general formula (XIV), which may be the same or different, each represents a hydrogen atom or a hydrocarbon group having at most 20 carbon atoms; wherein E represents a tetravalent hydrocarbon group having from 4 to 20 carbon atoms; wherein F represents an oxygen atom; wherein l and m each independently represents 1 or 2; and wherein q represents 0 or 1, wherein when q is 0, the carbon atoms of the norbornene ring form a ring together with the acid anhydride-containing group.

Claim 38

The process of claim 13 wherein said norbornene derivative is one of the compounds represented by the general formulae (XV) and (XVI): ##STR32## wherein W 15 and Z 15 in general formula (XV) and W 16 and X 16 in general formula (XVI), which may be the same or different, each represents a hydrogen atom or a hydrocarbon group having at most 20 carbon atoms; wherein E represents a tetravalent hydrocarbon group having from 4 to 20 carbon atoms; wherein G represents a group of the formula >N-R 21 wherein R 21 represents a hydrocarbon group having at most 20 carbon atoms or a hydrocarbon residue having an ester group; wherein l and m each independently represents 1 to 2; and wherein q represents 0 or 1, wherein when q is 0, the carbon atoms of the norbornene ring form a ring together with the imide group-containing group.