Process for the preparation of cycloolefin polymers

Claim 1

A process for the preparation of a cycloolefin polymer by polymerizing 0.1 to 100% by weight, relative to the total amount of the monomers, of at least one monomer of the formulae I, II, III or IV ##STR17## in which R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , R 6 , R 7 and R 8 are identical or different and denote a hydrogen atom or a C 1 -C 8 -alkyl radical, it being possible for identical radicals in the various formulae to have a different meaning, 0 to 99.9% by weight, relative to the total amount of the monomers, of a cycloolefin of the formula V ##STR18## in which n is a number from 2 to 10, and 0 to 99.9% by weight, relative to the total amount of the monomers, of at least one acyclic 1-olefin of the formula VI ##STR19## in which R 9 , R 10 , R 11 and R 12 are identical or different and denote a hydrogen atom or a C 1 -C 8 -alkyl radical, in solution, in suspension, in a monomer melt or in the gas phase, at a temperature of -78° to 150° C., under a pressure of 0.5 to 64 bar, and in the presence of a catalyst which is composed of a metallocene as the transition metal component and an aluminoxane of the formula VII ##STR20## for the linear type, and/or of the formula VIII ##STR21## for the cyclic type, R 13 in the formulae VII and VIII denoting a C 1 -C 6 -alkyl group or phenyl or benzyl and n being an integer from 2 to 50, which comprises carrying out the polymerization in the presence of a catalyst the transition metal component of which is a compound of the formula IX ##STR22## in which M 1 is titanium, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium, niobium or tantalum, R 14 and R 15 are identical or different and denote a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, a C 1 -C 10 -alkyl group, a C 1 -C 10 -alkoxy group, a C 6 -C 10 -aryl group, a C 6 -C 10 -aryloxy group, a C 2 -C 10 -alkenyl group, a C 7 -C 40 -arylalkyl group, a C 7 -C 40 -alkylaryl group or a C 8 -C 40 -arylalkenyl group, R 16 and R 17 are identical or different and denote a mononuclear or polynuclear hydrocarbon radical which can form a sandwich structure together with the central atom M 1 , R 18 is ##STR23## ═BR 19 , ═AlR 19 , --Ge--, --Sn--, --O--, --S--, ═SO, ═SO 2 , ═NR 19 , ═CO, ═PR 19 or ═P(O)R 19 ; R 19 , R 20 and R 21 being identical or different and denoting a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, a C 1 -C 10 -alkyl group, a C 1 -C 10 -fluoroalkyl group, a C 6 -C 10 -fluoroaryl group, a C 6 -C 10 -aryl group, a C 1 -C 10 -alkoxy group, a C 2 -C 10 -alkenyl group, a C 7 -C 40 -arylalkyl group, a C 8 -C 40 -arylalkenyl group or a C 7 -C 40 -alkylaryl group or R 19 and R 20 or R 19 and R 21 , in each case with the atoms linking them, forming a ring, provided that when R 16 and R 17 are identical and R 18 is ##STR24## R 19 and R 20 are not hydrogen or C 1 -C 10 -alkyl; and M 2 is silicon, germanium or tin.