Random copolymer, and process for production thereof

摘要

A random copolymer characterized in that (A) the copolymer comprises polymerized units from ethylene and polymerized units from at least one cycloolefin, (B) the mole ratio of the polymerized units from the cycloolefin to the polymerized units from ethylene is from 3:97 to 60:40, (C) the cycloolefin is incorporated in the polymer chain without ring opening, (D) the copolymer has an intrinsic viscosity of 0.01 to 20 dl/g, (E) the copolymer has a molecular weight distribution ( &upbar& Mw/ &upbar& Mn) of not more than 4, and (F) the copolymer has a crystallinity of 0 to 10%. The random copolymer may be grafted by (a) alpha, beta-unsaturated carboxylic acids and/or their derivatives, (b) styrenes, (c) organic silicon compounds having an olefinically unsaturated bond and a hydrolyzable group, or (d) unsaturated epoxy monomers. The random copolymer is produced by continuously copolymerizing ethylene with at least one cycloolefin in a hydrocrbon medium in the presence of a catalyst formed from a soluble vanadium compound and an organoaluminum compound while maintaining the atomic ratio of vanadium atoms to aluminum atoms in the reaction system, V/Al, at 2 or higher.