Metal dispersions

摘要

A composition comprises from 1 to 95% by weight of fine electropositive metal particles of less than 100 mm diameter and from 5 to 99% by weight of a hydrocarbon or ether solution of a macromolecular detergent copolymer of (a) at least one oil-solubilizing monomer having a single polymerizable ethylenic linkage and a monovalent hydrocarbon group of from 4 to 30 aliphatic carbon atoms and (b) at least one polar monomer. The polymer has a mol. weight of from 100,000 to 1,000,000 and is present in an amount sufficient to prevent the metal particles from coagulating normally from 0.01 to 10% by weight. The metal dispersions are made by decomposing thermally or photochemically organometallic compounds in which all the bonds of the metal are to carbon in the presence of a solution of a hydrocarbon-soluble homopolymer of an unsaturated ester having a single ethylenic linkage or a detergent copolymer as shown above. Metal compounds exemplified are tetraethyl lead, zinc diethyl, nickel tetracarbonyl, tetraallyl tin, cobalt tetracarbonyl, bicyclopentadienyl titanium, dipropyl cadmium, iron tetracarbonyl, diphenyl magnesium, trioctyl aluminium, molybdenum hexacarbonyl and diphenyl beryllium. Many polymers are exemplified oxides, hydroxides, sulphides or halides may be prepared from the metal dispersions and the products formed remain dispersed.ALSO:Metals in a finely-divided state (less than 100mm in diameter) are prepared by decomposing an organometallic compound in which all of the bonds of the metal are to carbon in suspension in a hydrocarbon or ether solution of a polymer (see Division C1). In examples tetraethyl lead, zinc diethyl, nickel carboxyl, tetraallyl tin, cobalt tetracarbonyl, biscyclopentadienyl titanium and dipropyl cadmium were decomposed by ultra-violet light; iron carbonyl, diphenyl magnesium, trioctyl aluminium, nickel tetracarbonyl and iron tetracarbonyl were decomposed by heating; molybdenum carbonyl was treated by photodecomposition; diphenyl beryllium, molybdenum hexacarbonyl and biscyclopentadienyl chromium were decomposed by actinic light.