Rheological properties of deionized Chinese ink.

Rheological properties for Chinese ink in exhaustively deionized aqueous media were carefully examined. In the steady shear measurement, the shear viscosities of the ink could be well explained by considering the "effective" volume fraction of the particles in the ink including the electrical double layers and by using Einstein's equation for dilute suspension viscosity, when the particle volume fraction was substantially low. In the case that the volume fraction was higher, the shear viscosities showed extremely higher than those from Einstein's prediction, though the ink remained a Newtonian liquid. In the stress-strain measurement, the shear moduli were observed at strain smaller than 0.2. The "weak" aggregation among the particles in the ink under no shear or low shear rates was supported. It should be noted that the glue in the suspension plays an important role for the good liquidity of the ink and for the "weak" bridges among the particles resulting its good dispersion stability.

MgCl2/R'nAl(OR)3-n: an excellent activator/support for transition-metal complexes for olefin polymerization.

A new and effective method for the activation, and simultaneously, immobilization of bis(phenoxyimine) early-transition-metal complexes for olefin polymerization (known as FI catalysts), which makes use of MgCl(2)/R'(n)Al(OR)(3-n) as an activator/support, has been developed. Ti-, Zr-, and V-FI catalysts combined with this MgCl(2)-based compound can form highly active MgCl(2)-supported single-site catalysts capable of demonstrating superior catalytic properties, compared to the corresponding homogeneous methylaluminoxane- (Ti- and Zr-FI catalysts) or alkylaluminum-activation systems (V-FI catalysts), in terms of their catalytic activity, molecular weight, stereoselectivity, and comonomer incorporation. Additionally, these new catalysts can produce polymers of significant morphology with high efficiency. Notably, the MgCl(2)-based compounds can also effectively activate and immobilize the early-to-late transition-metal complexes that have emerged recently. Thus, the application of MgCl(2)-based compounds as activators/supports for transition-metal complexes for olefin polymerization provides a conceptually new strategy for the development of methylaluminoxane- and borate-free, high-performance, single-site catalysts capable of controlling polymer morphology.

FI catalysts: new olefin polymerization catalysts for the creation of value-added polymers.

This contribution reports the discovery and application of phenoxy-imine-based catalysts for olefin polymerization. Ligand-oriented catalyst design research has led to the discovery of remarkably active ethylene polymerization catalysts (FI Catalysts), which are based on electronically flexible phenoxy-imine chelate ligands combined with early transition metals. Upon activation with appropriate cocatalysts, FI Catalysts can exhibit unique polymerization catalysis (e.g., precise control of product molecular weights, highly isospecific and syndiospecific propylene polymerization, regio-irregular polymerization of higher alpha-olefins, highly controlled living polymerization of both ethylene and propylene at elevated temperatures, and precise control over polymer morphology) and thus provide extraordinary opportunities for the syntheses of value-added polymers with distinctive architectural characteristics. Many of the polymers that are available via the use of FI Catalysts were previously inaccessible through other means of polymerization. For example, FI Catalysts can form vinyl-terminated low molecular weight polyethylenes, ultra-high molecular weight amorphous ethylene-propylene copolymers and atactic polypropylenes, highly isotactic and syndiotactic polypropylenes with exceptionally high peak melting temperatures, well-defined and controlled multimodal polyethylenes, and high molecular weight regio-irregular poly(higher alpha-olefin)s. In addition, FI Catalysts combined with MgCl(2)-based compounds can produce polymers that exhibit desirable morphological features (e.g., very high bulk density polyethylenes and highly controlled particle-size polyethylenes) that are difficult to obtain with conventionally supported catalysts. In addition, FI Catalysts are capable of creating a large variety of living-polymerization-based polymers, including terminally functionalized polymers and block copolymers from ethylene, propylene, and higher alpha-olefins. Furthermore, some of the FI Catalysts can furnish living-polymerization-based polymers catalytically by combination with appropriate chain transfer agents. Therefore, the development of FI Catalysts has enabled some crucial advances in the fields of polymerization catalysis and polymer syntheses.