Modification of Neodymium High cis-1,4 Polybutadiene with Tin Compounds

High cis-1,4 polybutadiene was modified with tin compounds. The polymerization of 1,3-butadiene was carried out in the presence of a catalyst comprised of neodymium 2-ethylhexanoate, acetylacetone, triisobutyl- aluminum, diisobutylaluminum hydride and ethylaluminumsesqui chloride. The reactive polymer was then modified with triphenyltin chloride. Tin content increased with the increase in the number of molecules. This increase can also be seen by GPC measurement with RI and UV dual detectors; that is, the inten sity of UV absorbance at the low molecular weight region was higher than that at the high molecular weight region. From these results, this polymer was thought to be modified by tin com pounds at the chain terminal end. The abrasion characteristics of the modified polymer were measured with a Pico abrasion tester and were found to be improved.