A new method to form colloidally stable oligosaccharide-grafted synthetic polymer particles has been developed. The oligosaccharides, of weight-average degree of polymerization approximately 38, were obtained by enzymatic debranching of amylopectin. Through the use of a cerium(IV)-based redox initiation process, oligosaccharide chains are grafted onto a synthetic polymer colloid comprising electrostatically stabilized poly(methyl methacrylate) or polystyrene latex particles swollen with methyl methacrylate monomer. Ce(IV) creates a radical species on these oligosaccharides, which then propagates, initially with aqueous-phase monomer, then with the methyl methacrylate monomer inside the particles. Ultracentrifugation, NMR, and total starch analyses together prove that the grafting process has occurred, with at least 7.7 wt % starch grafted and a grafting efficiency of 33%. The surfactant used in latex preparation was removed by dialysis, resulting in particles colloidally stabilized with only linear starch as a steric stabilizer. The debranched starch that comprises these oligosaccharides is found to be a remarkably effective colloidal stabilizer, albeit at low electrolyte concentration, stabilizing particles with very sparse surface coverage.

A novel approach to metallocene catalyst heterogenization is presented. Supported metallocenes are obtained by metallation of indenyl‐modified silica produced by a nonhydrolytic sol–gel process. The catalytic activities for ethylene polymerization are rather high for supported systems and may reach 190 grams of polyethylene per gram of catalyst per hour per bar. The influence of the preparation and composition of these supported metallocene systems on ethylene polymerization and polyethylene characteristics are reported.Possible structure of the indenyl‐modified silicas.magnified imagePossible structure of the indenyl‐modified silicas.

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