An alkylene oxide mixture containing greater than 50% by weight ethylene oxide is continuously polymerized in the presence of a double metal cyanide polymerization catalyst and certain magnesium, Group 3-Group 15 metal or lanthanide series metal compounds. The presence of the magnesium, Group 3-Group 15 metal or lanthanide series metal compound permits the polymerization to be performed continuously without premature deactivation of the double metal cyanide catalyst.

The present invention concerns a catalyst formulation comprising: (a) a Zn catalyst comprising a Zn compound having alcoholate ligand(s) derived from one or more polyols, and (b) a catalyst additive comprising a metal compound (i) having alcoholate ligand(s) derived from one or monohydric alcohol wherein the metal is selected from: (I) group 13 metals, preferably B, Al, Ga, and In, more preferably Al, (II) combinations of Al with group 14 metals or semi-metals, preferably a combination of Al and Si, and (III) combinations of at least two metals selected from (I) and (II). The present invention also relates to a process for polymerizing an epoxide monomer, preferably ethylene oxide, comprising carrying out the process in the presence of the catalyst formulation.

A method of producing a high primary hydroxyl group content and a high number average molecular weight polyol includes preparing a mixture that includes a double metal cyanide catalyst and a low molecular weight polyether polyol having a number average molecular weight of less than 1,000 g/mol, the polyether polyol is derived from propylene oxide, ethylene oxide, or butylene oxide, setting the mixture to having a first temperature, adding at least one selected from propylene oxide, ethylene oxide, and butylene oxide to the mixture at the first temperature, allowing the mixture to react to form a reacted mixture, adding a Lewis acid catalyst to the reacted mixture, setting the reaction mixture including the second catalyst to have a second temperature that is less than the first temperature, and adding additional at least one selected from propylene oxide, ethylene oxide, and butylene oxide to the reacted mixture at the second temperature such that a resultant polyol having a primary hydroxyl group content of at least 60% and a number average molecular weight greater than 2,500 g/mol is formed.

Hydroxyl-containing copolymers of butylene oxide and ethylene oxide having a hydroxyl equivalent weight of at least 150, an average of 1.8 to 6 hydroxyl groups per molecule of which hydroxyl groups at least 70% are primary hydroxyl groups and an oxyethylene content of no greater than 10% by weight based on the weight of the copolymer, are useful for making polyurethanes. These polyols are characterized by high reactivity and fast curing times. Polyurethanes made using these polyols have excellent mechanical properties and are highly hydrophobic.

Described herein is a compact polyurethane having a density of 850 g/l, obtainable by reacting at least the components: i) a polyisocyanate composition; and ii) a polyol composition, including at least one polyether polyol (ii.1) which is obtainable by reacting ii.1.1) a polyol starter with a functionality of 3 to 6 with ii.1.2) propylene oxide and/or butylene oxide, in the presence of a boron-based, fluorine-containing Lewis acid catalyst (ii.1.3), where the polyether polyol (ii.1) has an equivalent molecular weight of 50 to 150 g/mol, and ii.1.4) optionally further auxiliaries and/or additives. Also described herein are a process for producing such a compact polyurethane and compact polyurethanes obtainable by this process. Also described herein is a method of using such a compact polyurethane for the production of a fiber composite. Also described herein are a corresponding fiber composite material and a process for producing such a fiber composite.

The present disclosure relates to the field of catalyst preparation, and more particularly to a composite catalyst for catalyzing polymerization of cyclic ethers, a preparation method and a use thereof. The method includes the following steps: (1) dissolving a metal salt in a solvent, stirring evenly to obtain a first component; (2) adding a silicon source to the first component, reacting the silicon source and the metal salt, and standing; (3) removing the solvent, drying, to obtain a dried powder; (4) calcining the dried powder to obtain the composite catalyst. The composite catalyst prepared by the present disclosure has suitable acidity, and has acid sites of Lewis acid and Bronsted acid at the same time. The composite catalyst can show suitable acidity through the combination of two acid sites, to achieve higher conversion rate and narrower molecular weight distribution in the ring-opening polymerization reaction of cyclic ethers.

A composition comprising: a bulk material; and at least one surface; the bulk material comprising ions of a metal M bonded to one another via linker groups; the surface comprising ions of a metal M bonded to one another via linker groups; the metals M and M being the same or different; the surface comprising at least one first site A and at least one second, different site B; the site A having a hydroxyl group bonded thereto; the site B being a Lewis acidic site; is described. Methods of forming the composition and the use of the composition as a catalyst, in particular to catalyse reactions in which CO.sub.2 is incorporated into the structure of a molecule, in particular a polymer, are also described.

Polyethers are prepared by polymerizing an alkylene oxide in the presence of a starter, an aluminum compound that has at least one hydrocarbyl substituent, and a phosphorus-nitrogen base. The phosphorus-nitrogen base is present in only a small molar ratio relative to the amount of starter. The presence of such small amounts of phosphorus-nitrogen base greatly increases the catalytic activity of the system, compared to the case in which the aluminum compound is used by itself. The product polyethers have low amounts of unsaturated polyether impurities and little or no unwanted high molecular weight fraction. Polymers of propylene oxide have very low proportions of primary hydroxyl groups.

A composition comprising: a bulk material; and at least one surface; the bulk material comprising ions of a metal M bonded to one another via linker groups; the surface comprising ions of a metal M bonded to one another via linker groups; the metals M and M being the same or different; the surface comprising at least one first site A and at least one second, different site B; the site A having a hydroxyl group bonded thereto; the site B being a Lewis acidic site; is described. Methods of forming the composition and the use of the composition as a catalyst, in particular to catalyse reactions in which CO.sub.2 is incorporated into the structure of a molecule, in particular a polymer, are also described.

The invention provides a method for sequence controllable block copolymerization of a cyclic ester monomer and an epoxy monomer, including: in an inert atmosphere, adding the epoxy monomer and/or the cyclic ester monomer into a catalytic initiating system including an organic base and an alkyl borane for reaction, so as to obtain a sequence controllable polyether-polyester block copolymer of the cyclic ester monomer and the epoxy monomer, i.e. a polyester-b-polyether or a polyether-b-polyester. The invention can prepare various polyether-polyester block copolymers of which the molecular weights, block sequences, block ratios and pendant group combinations can be flexibly adjusted. The invention provides a method for continuously preparing an aliphatic polyester-polyether block copolymer by a one-pot method utilizing a catalytic system of a metal-free Lewis acid-base pair.