The influence of the nature of organoaluminum compound on kinetic heterogeneity of active sites in lanthanide‐based diene polymerization

The influence of organoaluminum compound on kinetic heterogeneity of active sites in lanthanide-based diene polymerization was investigated. It was shown that heterogeneity of investigated catalytic systems was displayed in the existence of four types of active centers. They are formed at the beginning of the polymerization process and produce macromolecules with lengths that are definite for each type of active centers. The organoaluminum compound's nature greatly influences the kinetic activity of polymerization centers. The method of analysis of the curves' maximum distribution on kinetic activity and the change of kinetic activity of every active centers' type were proposed, which permits the calculation of values of concentration for each type of active center separately. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 87: 358–368, 2003