The Dow Chemical Company

Dow Global Technolgoies LLC

Osborne K. Mckinney

David C. Kelley

Deepak R. Parikh

Lawrence T. Kale

Sharon L. Baker

Pradeep Jain

Lawrence T Kale

Deepak R Parikh

Pak-Wing Steve Chum

Shih-Yaw Lai

David C Kelley

Osborne K McKinney

Robert R Turley

Sharon L Baker

Michael E Rowland

Kyle G Kummer

James J Hill

James C Stevens

Peter N Nickias

Lonnie G Hazlitt

Jasson T Patton

Daniel D VanderLende

Jacquelyn A deGroot

John O Bieser

William R Van Volkenburgh

Debra J Mangold

Luc Bosiers

Lionel H Dagenais

Osborne K Mckinney

The subject invention is directed to a rheology-modified ethylene polymer having less than 0.5 weight percent gel, a composition distribution breadth index (CDBI) greater than 50 percent, and a molecular weight distribution (M /M ) of less than 4.0, which is characterized as having improved rheological performance and/or melt strength attributes relative to the unmodified polymer. The subject invention is further directed to polymer blends which comprise the rheology-modified polymers, and to a process for preparing the rheology-modified polymers.

Rheology-modified polyolefins

The subject invention is directed to an olefin polymer produced by polymerizing at least one &agr;-olefin in the presence of a Group 4 metal complex comprising an indenyl group substituted in the 2 or 3 position with at least one group selected from hydrocarbyl, perfluoro-substituted hydrocarbyl, silyl, germyl and mixtures thereof, said indenyl group further being covalently bonded to the metal by means of a divalent ligand group, wherein the divalent ligand comprises nitrogen or phosphorus having an aliphatic or alicyclic hydrocarby group covalently bonded thereto via a primary or secondary carbon. Preferred olefin polymers of the invention will be characterized as having a high molecular weight, narrow molecular weight distribution, high vinyl content, and a bimodal DSC melting curve or a deconvoluted ATREF or GPC curve which shows at least two distinct narrow peaks. The olefin polymer will have utility in a variety of applications, including but not limited to films, fibers, foams, molded parts, and as components of formulations such as adhesives, sealants, coatings, caulks, and asphalt.

Olefin polymers prepared with substituted indenyl containing metal complexes

The subject invention is directed to a rheology-modified ethylene polymer having less than 0.5 weight percent gel, a composition distribution breadth index (CDBI) greater than 50 percent, and a molecular weight distribution (M.sub.w /M.sub.n) of less than 4.0, which is characterized as having improved rheological performance and/or melt strength attributes relative to the unmodified polymer. The subject invention is further directed to polymer blends which comprise the rheology-modified polymers, and to a process for preparing the rheology-modified polymers.

The subject invention generally provides a multilayer structure that includes a polymer mixture made from at least two polymer component materials. The invention particularly pertains to a multilayer structure containing an improved sealant layer and a polypropylene layer, wherein the sealant layer is made from a homogeneously branched ethylene polymer having particular molecular weight characteristics and a second ethylene polymer. The sealant layer has balanced properties such low heat seal and hot tack initiation temperature, a high hot tack strength and a broad hot tack seal window. The multilayer structure is particularly useful as a biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) packaging film structure.

Multilayer polyolefin with balanced sealant properties

An ethylene polymer extrusion composition having high draw down and substantially reduced neck-in, a process for making such a composition and a process of using such a composition to prepare extrusion coatings, extrusion profiles and extrusion cast films are disclosed. The ethylene polymer extrusion composition is made of 75-95 weight percent of at least one ethylene .alpha.-olefin interpolymer and 5-25 weight percent of at least one high pressure ethylene polymer characterized as having high melt strength and a broad, bimodal molecular weight distribution. In profiles, coatings or films, the composition can be used as sealant, adhesive or abuse resistance layers.

Extrusion compositions having high drawdown and substantially reduced

This application relates to flexible gaskets formed from blends of linear or substantially linear homogeneously branched ethylene/.alpha.-olefin interpolymers and that possess improved processability as well as low temperature resistance and resistance to staining and attack by microbes. Such gaskets do not require formulation other than the addition of color, to produce a functional product. The gaskets of the present invention do not impact negatively on the environment and are also relatively inexpensive to produce.

Homogeneously branched ethylene .alpha.-olefin interpolymer compositions

Polymer blends of at least one ethylene interpolymer product and at least one linear polyethylene are disclosed. The blends have a shear rate at the point of onset of melt fracture at least about 2 percent higher than that obtained for the linear polyethylene alone. The polymer blends are particularly useful for forming films and tapes wherein the melt fracture of the polymer blend is substantially reduced or eliminated, thereby improving extrudability and fabricated article appearance.

Reduction of melt fracture in linear polyethylene

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Lake Jackson, TX, United States of America

Lawrence T Kale