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A method for making a Ziegler-Natta catalyst support includes the steps of contacting a fumed silica with a surface modifying agent such as a compound having the formula RMgX MgR'R" wherein R, R' and R" are each individually a moiety selected from an alkyl group, cycloalkyl, aryl or alkaryl group, a

A method for making a Ziegler-Natta catalyst support includes the steps of contacting a fumed silica with a surface modifying agent such as a compound having the formula RMgX MgR'R" wherein R, R' and R" are each individually a moiety selected from an alkyl group, cycloalkyl, aryl or alkaryl group, and X is a halogen selected from the group consisting of chlorine, bromine and iodine, to provide a pretreated silica seeding agent. The pretreated silica seeding agent is then dispersed in a non-aqueous liquid magnesium halide/alkanol complex, and the magnesium halide is crystallized onto the silica particles to form catalyst support particles especially suitable for Ziegler-Natta catalysts.

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The invention claimed is: 1. A method for making a catalyst support comprising the steps of: a) providing a silica seeding agent including silica particles having an average particle diameter of 0.001 up to less than 1. 0 micron; b) contacting the silica seeding agent with a surface modifying agen

The invention claimed is: 1. A method for making a catalyst support comprising the steps of: a) providing a silica seeding agent including silica particles having an average particle diameter of 0.001 up to less than 1. 0 micron; b) contacting the silica seeding agent with a surface modifying agent having a formula selected from the group consisting of RMgX, MgR'R" and R'MgOR", wherein R, R' and R" are each individually a moiety selected from an alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl or alkaryl group, and X is a halogen selected from the group consisting of chlorine, bromine and iodine, to provide a pretreated silica seeding agent; c) providing a non-aqueous liquid magnesium halide/alkanol complex; d) combining the non-aqueous liquid magnesium halide/alkanol complex with the pretreated silica; and e) crystallizing the magnesium halide onto the silica particles to form catalyst support particles. 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the silica particles have a radius which does not vary by more than about 20% from the center of the particles to any point on the particle surface. 3. The method of claim 1 wherein 50% of the silica particles have particle diameter diameters ranging from about 0.05 microns to about 0.5 microns. 4. The method of claim 1 wherein R is an alkyl group having the formula--CnH2n+1 wherein n is any integer from 1 to about 20, and X is chlorine. 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the surface modifying agent has the formula RMgX and is a compound selected from the groups consisting of n-butylmagnesium chloride, n-butylmagnesium bromide, sec-butylmagnesium chloride, sec-butylmagnesium bromide, tert-butylmagnesium chloride, tert-butylmagnesium bromide, amylmagnesium chloride, isoamylmagnesium chloride, hexylmagnesium chloride, octylmagnesium chloride, phenylmagnesium chloride and phenylmagnesium bromide. 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the surface modifying agent is a compound having the formula MgR'R". 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the surface modifying agent is a compound having the formula R'MgOR". 8. The method of claim 1 wherein the step (c) of providing a non-aqueous liquid magnesium halide/alkanol complex comprises combining an anhydrous magnesium halide with an anhydrous alcohol at a mole ratio of alcohol to magnesium halide of from about 2 to about 20 to form a mixture, and heating the mixture to a liquefaction temperature. 9. The method of claim 8 wherein the magnesium halide is a compound having a formula MgX2 wherein X is a halogen. 10. The method of claim 9 wherein the magnesium halide is a compound selected from the groups consisting of magnesium bromide, and magnesium iodide. 11. The method of claim 10 wherein the magnesium halide is magnesium chloride. 12. The method of claim 8 wherein the magnesium halide is a compound having the formula Mg(XOm)2 wherein X is a halogen and m is an integer of from 1 to 4. 13. The method of claim 12 is wherein the magnesium halide is a compound selected from the group consisting of magnesium hypochlorite, magnesium chlorite, magnesium chlorate, magnesium perchlorate, magnesium bromate, magnesium perbromate, magnesium iodate and magnesium periodate. 14. The method of claim 8 wherein the magnesium halide is a compound having the formula MgXOH wherein X is a halogen. 15. The method of claim 14 wherein the magnesium halide is a compound selected from the group consisting of chloromagnesium hydroxide, bromomagnesium hydroxide and iodomagnesium hydroxide. 16. The method of claim 8 wherein the alkanol is selected from the group consisting of ethanol, methanol and 2-ethyl-1-hexanol. 17. The method of claim 1 wherein the step (d) of combining the non-aqueous liquid magnesium halide/alkanol complex with the pretreated silica comprises dispersing the pretreated silica in the liquefied magnesium halide/alkanol complex. 18. The method of claim 1 wherein the step (d) of combining the nonaqueous liquid magnesium halide/alkanol complex with the pretreated silica comprises dispersing the pretreated silica in a non-polar, non-ionic oil and combining the nonaqueous liquid magnesium halide/alkanol complex with the pretreated silica in the non-polar, non-ionic oil, wherein the non-polar non-ionic oil is at a temperature above the melting point of the non-aqueous liquid magnesium halide/alkanol complex, and step (e) comprises chilling the non-polar non-ionic oil to a temperature below the melting point of the magnesium halide/alkanol complex to crystallize the magnesium halide onto the silica particles. 19. The method of claim 16 wherein the non-polar, non-ionic, oil is selected from the group consisting of mineral oil, paraffin oil and silicone oil. 20. The method of claim 16 wherein the step (e) of crystallizing the magnesium halide onto the silica particles comprises evaporating the alkanol from the magnesium halide/alkanol complex and/or reducing the temperature of the magnesium halide/alkanol complex. 21. The method of claim 1 wherein the step (e) of crystallizing the magnesium halide onto the silica particles comprises chilling a hydrocarbon solvent to a temperature of from about-90째 C. to about 0째 C., then adding the combined magnesium halide/alkanol complex and pretreated silica to the chilled hydrocarbon solvent. 22. The method of claim 19 wherein the hydrocarbon solvent is a compound selected from the group consisting of heptane, hexane, and cyclohexane. 23. A method of making a Ziegler-Natta catalyst comprising the steps of a) providing a silica seeding agent including silica particles having an average particle diameter of 0.001 up to less than 1. 0 micron, a porosity of less than about 0.5 cc/g as measured by nitrogen absorption and a radius which does not vary by more than about 20% from the center of the particles to any point on the particle surface; b) contacting the silica seeding agent with a surface modifying agent having a formula selected from the group consisting of RMgX, MgR'R" and R'MgOR", wherein R, R' and R" are each individually a moiety selected from an alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl or alkaryl group, and X is a halogen selected from the group consisting of chlorine, bromine and iodine, to provide a pretreated silica seeding agent; c) providing a non-aqueous liquid magnesium halide/alkanol complex; d) combining the non-aqueous liquid magnesium halide/alkanol complex with the pretreated silica; e) crystallizing the magnesium halide onto the silica particles to form approximately spherical catalyst support particles; f) recovering the catalyst support particles; g) treating the catalyst support particles with a transition metal compound to form a solid catalyst component; h) recovering the solid catalyst component; and i) combining the solid catalyst component with an organo-aluminum cocatalyst. 24. The method of claim 23 wherein the surface modifying agent has the formula RMgX and is a compound selected from the group consisting of n-butylmagnesium chloride, n-butylmagnesium bromide, sec-butylmagnesium chloride, sec-butylmagnesium bromide, tert-butylmagnesium chloride, tert-butylmagnesium bromide, amylmagnesium chloride, isoamylmagnesium chloride, hexylmagnesium chloride, octylmagnesium chloride, phenylmagnesium chloride and phenylmagnesium bromide. 25. The method of claim 23 wherein the surface wherein the surface modifying agent is a compound having the formula MgR'R". 26. The method of claim 23 wherein the surface modifying agent is a compound having the formula R'MgOR". 27. The method of claim 23 wherein the step (c) of providing a non-aqueous liquid magnesium halide/alkanol complex comprises combining an anhydrous magnesium halide with an anhydrous alcohol at a mole ratio of alcohol to magnesium halide of from about 2 to about 20 to form a mixture, and heating the mixture to a liquefaction temperature. 28. The method of claim 27 wherein the magnesium halide is magnesium chloride and the alkanol is ethanol. 29. The method of claim 23 wherein the step (e) of crystallizing the magnesium halide onto the silica particles comprises chilling a hydrocarbon solvent to a temperature of from about-90째 C. to about 0째 C., then adding the combined magnesium halide/alkanol complex and pretreated silica to the chilled hydrocarbon solvent. 30. The method of claim 23 wherein the transition metal compound is selected from the group consisting of titanium compounds and vanadium compounds. 31. The method of claim 23 further including the step of treating the catalyst support particles with an internal electron donor. 32. The method of claim 31 wherein the internal electron door is a compound selected from the group consisting of diethyl phthalate, di-n-pentyl phthalate, di-n-hexyl phthalate, di-n-heptyl phthalate, di-n-octyl phthalate and di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate. 33. The method of claim 23 wherein the organo-aluminum cocatalyst is selected from the group consisting of trimethyl aluminum, triethyl aluminum, tri-isobutyl aluminum, trioctyl aluminum and methyldiethyl aluminum. 34. The method of claim 23 further comprising the step of combining an external electron donor with the solid catalyst component and the organo-aluminum cocatalyst. 35. The method of claim 34 wherein the external electron donor is an organosilicon compound having the formula R1 nSi(OR2)4-n wherein each R1 can be the same or different and is a C1-C20 alkyl group, a 5-to 7-membered cyclic alkyl group optionally substituted with C1-C10 alkyl, a C 6-C18 aryl-C1-C10 alkyl group, R2 is a C1-C20 alkyl group, and n is an integer equal to 1, 2 or 3. 36. A method for the polymerization of an olefin comprising: a) providing a Ziegler-Natta catalyst in accordance with a method including the steps of i. providing a silica seeding agent including silica particles having an average particle diameter of 0.001 up to less than 1. 0 micron, a porosity of less than about 0.5 cc/g as measured by nitrogen absorption, and a radius which does not vary by more than about 20% from the center of the particles to any point on the particle surface, ii. contacting the silica seeding agent with a surface modifying agent having a formula selected from the group consisting of RMgX, MgR'R" and R'MgOR", wherein R, R' and R" are each individually a moiety selected from an alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl or alkaryl group, and X is a halogen selected from the group consisting of chlorine, bromine and iodine, to provide a pretreated silica seeding agent, iii. providing a non-aqueous liquid magnesium halide/alkanol complex, iv. combining the non-aqueous liquid magnesium halide/alkanol complex with the pretreated silica, v. crystallizing the magnesium halide onto the silica particles to form approximately spherical catalyst support particles, vi. recovering the catalyst support particles, vii. treating the catalyst support particles with a transition metal compound to form a solid catalyst component, viii. recovering the solid catalyst component, and ix. combining the solid catalyst component with an organo-aluminum cocatalyst to provide the Ziegler-Natta catalyst; and, b) contacting the olefin with the Ziegler-Natta catalyst under olefin polymerization reaction conditions. 37. The method of claim 36 wherein the olefin is selected from the group consisting of ethylene, propylene, but-1-ene, pent-1-ene, hex-1-ene, hept-1-ene, oct-1-ene, non-1-ene, dec-1-ene, 4-methylpent-1-ene and mixtures thereof.