Solvent and aqueous-borne polyolefin coatings obtained by catalytic polymerization

Copolymers of ethylene with various olefins such as hexadecene, undecenol and norbornene were obtained by emulsion and solution catalytic polymerization, using a nickel-based catalytic system. Aqueous-based coatings could be produced from hexadecene-containing copolymers, however these coatings exhibited poor adhesion properties. Adhesion was improved by introducing polar groups, as in the case of poly(undecenol-co-ethylene), but the resulting films were very tacky. Copolymers of ethylene and norbornene were prepared by palladium-catalyzed polymerization. Solvent-based coatings of ethylene–norbornene copolymers were obtained when the incorporation of norbornene in the polymer was higher than 15 mol%. Using EIS experiments, the resulting films were shown to exhibit promising applications as barrier coatings for anticorrosion applications.