TY - JOUR

T1 - Ethylene polymerization of nickel catalysts with α-diimine ligands

T2 - Factors controlling the structure of active species and polymer properties

AU - Soshnikov, Igor E.

AU - Bryliakov, Konstantin P.

AU - Antonov, Artem A.

AU - Sun, Wen Hua

AU - Talsi, Evgenii P.

PY - 2019/6/21

Y1 - 2019/6/21

N2 - α-Diimine and related complexes of late transition metals such as palladium and nickel have been attracting continuing interest as single-site catalysts of ethylene homopolymerization to branched polyolefins, having challenging mechanical properties. The state-of-the art catalysts demonstrate promising catalytic activities, and enhanced thermal stabilities, affording polyethylenes with a variable degree of branching and, in addition, are able to incorporate polar co-monomers into polyethylene structures. At the same time, fundamental understanding of the structure-reactivity relationships of such catalysts mostly remains at the phenomenological level, due to the lack of experimental data on the solution structures of intermediates that drive the polymerization process. In this perspective, we discuss recent advances of α-diimine nickel based catalysts of ethylene polymerization, focusing on the relationships between the catalyst structures on the one hand, and their thermal stabilities and properties of the resulting polyethylene, on the other hand. In addition, some intriguing novel mechanistic findings of these catalyst systems are presented.

AB - α-Diimine and related complexes of late transition metals such as palladium and nickel have been attracting continuing interest as single-site catalysts of ethylene homopolymerization to branched polyolefins, having challenging mechanical properties. The state-of-the art catalysts demonstrate promising catalytic activities, and enhanced thermal stabilities, affording polyethylenes with a variable degree of branching and, in addition, are able to incorporate polar co-monomers into polyethylene structures. At the same time, fundamental understanding of the structure-reactivity relationships of such catalysts mostly remains at the phenomenological level, due to the lack of experimental data on the solution structures of intermediates that drive the polymerization process. In this perspective, we discuss recent advances of α-diimine nickel based catalysts of ethylene polymerization, focusing on the relationships between the catalyst structures on the one hand, and their thermal stabilities and properties of the resulting polyethylene, on the other hand. In addition, some intriguing novel mechanistic findings of these catalyst systems are presented.

KW - THERMAL-STABILITY

KW - POLYETHYLENE MICROSTRUCTURE

KW - METAL CATALYSTS

KW - COMPLEXES

KW - PRECATALYSTS

KW - BEHAVIOR

KW - COPOLYMERIZATION

KW - ACTIVATION

KW - OLEFINS

KW - SYSTEMS

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85067199077&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1039/c9dt01297d

DO - 10.1039/c9dt01297d

M3 - Article

C2 - 31070205

AN - SCOPUS:85067199077

VL - 48

SP - 7974

EP - 7984

JO - Dalton Transactions

JF - Dalton Transactions

SN - 1477-9226

IS - 23

ER -