High efficiency, high temperature catalyst for polymerizing olefins

Claim 1

A catalytic reaction product of (A) compound of a transition metal (TM), (B) an organomagnesium component selected from (1) an organomagnesium compound or (2) a complex of an organomagnesium compound and an organometallic compound in an amount sufficient to solubilize the organomagnesium compound in hydrocarbon and (C) an active non-metallic halide, said non-metallic halide corresponding to the formula R'X wherein R' is hydrogen or a hydrocarbyl group containing a labile halogen atom as easily lost to another compound as the chloride atom of sec-butyl chloride and X is halogen; said reaction product being produced in a manner such that the organomagnesium component reacts with the non-metallic halide to form a hydrocarbon insoluble portion, and further provided that sufficient aluminum, in the form of a hydrocarbylaluminum compound represented by the formula R 3-a AlX a wherein R is hydrocarbyl, X is halide and a is a number from 0 to 1.5, is present in the catalytic reaction product in an amount sufficient to provide a reaction product that is catalytic for the polymerization of an α-olefin; the proportions of the foregoing components of said catalytic reaction product being such that the atomic ratio of Mg:TM is within the range from about 5:1 to about 2000:1, the atomic ratio of X:TM is within the range from about 40:1 to about 2000:1, the atomic ratio of Mg:X is within the range from about 0.2:1 to about 1:1, the atomic ratio of Mg:Al is at least 0.3:1, and the atomic ratio of Al:TM is not more than about 120:1, said reaction product being useful as a catalyst for the polymerization of an α-olefin.