Denki Kagaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Japan Synthetic Rubber Co., Ltd.

Jun Hirota

Akio Nishijima

Koei Komatsu

Kenji Itoyama

A process for producing a conjugated diolefinic polymer by polymerizing at least one conjugated diolefin or copolymerizing at least one conjugated diolefin with at least one vinyl aromatic hydrocarbon in a hydrocarbon solvent in the presence of an alfin catalyst and at least one molecular weight regulator selected from the group consisting of (A) unsaturated halohydrocarbons represented by the general formula, RCX .dbd. CYZ, wherein R represents hydrogen, an alkyl group having 1 to 7 carbon atoms, a vinyl group, a phenyl group, a substituted phenyl group, or a halogen atom and X, Y and Z represent independently a hydrogen or halogen atom, at least one of said R, X, Y and Z being a halogen atom, (B) halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons, (C) ethers, polyethers, and acetals and (D) tertiary amines and, if necessary, a dihydro aromatic hydrocarbon, characterized in that said polymerization or copolymerization is effected in the presence of 0.03 to 0.9 mole of water and/or an alcohol per mole of organosodium contained in said alfin catalyst. According to this invention, there is obtained a polymer or copolymer excellent in green strength and processability of the unvulcanized compound and in physical properties of the vulcanizate.

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Ichihara, Japan

Jun Hirota