Understanding the Microstructure of Living Ethylene/1-Octene Block Copolymers with Dynamic Monte Carlo Simulation

Living ethylene/1-olefin copolymerization with multiple comonomer feeding stages allows the production of living block copolymers (LBCs) with well-controlled microstructures. A dynamic Monte Carlo model is developed to simulate the production of LBCs in a semibatch reactor, and it is used to study how the polymer microstructure evolves during the polymerization. The model also describes how chain transfer reactions affect the microstructure of LBC blocks. These model predictions provide useful guidelines for producing LBCs with precisely designed microstructures. (Figure presented.).