Highly Robust Palladium(II) α‐Diimine Catalysts for Slow‐Chain‐Walking Polymerization of Ethylene and Copolymerization with Methyl Acrylate

A series of sterically demanding α‐diimine ligands bearing electron‐donating and electron‐withdrawing substituents were synthesized by an improved synthetic procedure in high yield. Subsequently, the corresponding Pd complexes were prepared and isolated by column chromatography. These Pd complexes demonstrated unique properties in ethylene polymerization, including high thermal stability and high activity, thus generating polyethylene with a high molecular weight and very low branching density. Similar properties were observed for ethylene/methyl acrylate copolymerization. Because of the high molecular weight and low branching density, the generated polyethylene and ethylene/methyl acrylate copolymer were semicrystalline solids. The (co)polymers had unique microstructures originating from the unique slow‐chain‐walking activity of these Pd complexes.     

Synthesis of long‐chain‐branched polyethylene by ethylene homopolymerization with a novel nickel(II) α‐diimine catalyst

Long‐chain‐branched polyethylene with a broad or bimodal molecular weight distribution was synthesized by ethylene homopolymerization via a novel nickel(II) α‐diimine complex of 2,3‐bis(2‐phenylphenyl)butane diimine nickel dibromide ({[2‐C₆H₄(C₆H₅)]? N?C? (CH₃)C(CH₃)?N? [2‐C₆H₄(C₆H₅)]}NiBr₂) that possessed two stereoisomers in the presence of modified methylaluminoxane. The influences of the polymerization conditions, including the temperature and Al/Ni molar ratio, on the catalytic activity, molecular weight and molecular weight distribution, degree of branching, and branch length of polyethylene, were investigated. The resultant products were confirmed by gel permeation chromatography, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, and ¹³C NMR characterization to be composed of higher molecular weight polyethylene with only isolated long‐branched chains (longer than six carbons) or with methyl pendant groups and oligomers of linear α‐olefins. The long‐chain‐branched polyethylene was formed mainly through the copolymerization of ethylene growing chains and macromonomers of α‐olefins. The presence of methyl pendant groups in the polyethylene main chain implied a 2,1‐insertion of the macromonomers into [Ni]? H active species. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 1325–1330, 2005     

Electrochemical Polymerization of Ni(II) and Pd(II) Complexes with 1,2-Bis(o-aminobenzylidene)ethylenediamine

Polymers based on the Pd(II) and Ni(II) complexes with 1,2-bis(o-aminobenzylidene)ethylenediamine and exhibiting conducting properties are synthesized. The kinetic regularities of polymer formation on solid substrates and dependence of the rate of charge diffusion in a bulk of polymer matrix on the polymer thickness are established.     

NHC–Pd(II) complex–Cu(I) co‐catalyzed homocoupling reaction of terminal alkynes

Two NHC–Pd(II) complexes synthesized from trans‐cyclohexane‐1,2‐diamine were fairly effective in the NHC–Pd(II) complex/Cu co‐catalyzed terminal alkyne homocoupling reaction to give the corresponding symmetrical 1,4‐disubstituted 1,3‐diynes in good yields under mild conditions. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Molecular structure determination of Ni(II) diimine complex and DMA analysis of Ni(II) diimine‐based polyethenes

Dynamic mechanical thermoanalysis showed that polyethene, prepared under suitable polymerization conditions with the Brookhart‐type catalyst dibromo‐N,N′‐1,2‐acenaphthylenediylidenebis[2,6‐bis(1‐methylethyl)benzeneamine]Ni(II)/methylaluminoxane (MAO), behaved like an elastomer, even though no comonomer was added. A structural characterization showed that the polymers contained methyl to hexyl branches and some longer branches. The effect of the polymerization conditions on branching was investigated through variations in the pressure and temperature of the polymerization. Depending on the degree and type of branching, polyethene was either quite amorphous or highly crystalline with a high melting temperature. The solid‐state structure of the catalyst dibromo‐N,N′‐1,2‐acenaphthylenediylidenebis[2,6‐bis(1‐methylethyl)benzeneamine]Ni(II) consisted of two centrosymmetrically related monomeric moieties, where Ni atoms were bridged by two bromide ligands. The Ni atom was five‐coordinated, with a square pyramidal coordination polyhedron. The sixth coordination site of the octahedral geometry was effectively blocked by the isopropyl groups of the 2,6‐C₆H₃(i‐Pr) substituents of the diimine ligand. In solution in the presence of MAO, the longer bridging Ni? Br bonds broke, and the complex dissociated to a monomeric species. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 39: 1426–1434, 2001     

Monodentate aminophosphine nickel(II)‐ and palladium(II)‐catalyzed ethylene oligomerization and norbornene polymerization

Nickel(II) and palladium(II) complexes of monodentate aminophosphine ligands were prepared and characterized. In ethylene oligomerization and subsequent Friedel–Crafts alkylation of toluene, the Ni(II) complexes Ni‐1 and Ni‐2 were activated with aluminium co‐catalysts and generated tandem catalysts with high activities (up to 1.1 × 10⁶ g (mol Ni)^?1 h^?1) which are comparable with those of previously reported bidentate Ni(II) catalysts. The Pd(II) precatalyst Pd‐1 showed high activities (up to 2.0 × 10⁵ g (mol Pd)^?1 h^?1) in the polymerization of norbornene.     

Remote Perfluoroalkyl Substituents are Key to Living Aqueous Ethylene Polymerization

In various nickel(II) salicylaldiminato ethylene polymerization catalysts, which are a versatile mechanistic probe for substituent effects, longer perfluoroalkyl groups exert a strong effect on catalytic activities and polymer microstructures compared to the trifluoromethyl group. This effect is accounted for by a reduced electron density on the active sites, and is also supported by electrochemical studies. Thus, β‐hydride elimination, the key step of chain transfer and branching pathways, is disfavored while chain‐growth rates are enhanced. This enhancement occurs to an extent that enables living polymerizations in aqueous systems to afford ultra‐high‐molecular‐weight polyethylene for various chelating salicylaldimine motifs. These findings are mechanistically instructive as well as practically useful for illustrating the potential of perfluoroalkyl groups in catalyst design.     

Stochastic simulations of polymer growth and isomerization in the polymerization of propylene catalyzed by Pd-based diimine catalysts

A model is presented that employs a stochastic approach to the simulation of polyolefin chain growth and isomerization. The model is applied to propylene polymerization catalyzed by Pd-based diimine catalysts. The stochastic approach links the microscopic (quantum chemical) approach with modeling of the macroscopic systems. The DFT calculated energies of the elementary reactions and their barriers have been used as input parameters for the simulations. The influence of the catalyst's steric bulk, as well as polymerization temperature and olefin pressure on the polymer branching and its microstructure, is discussed. The results are in good agreement with available experimental data. In the propylene polymerization catalyzed by Pd(II) complexes with methyl backbone- and -Ph-(i)Pr(2) imine substituents a number of branches of 238 branches/1000 C have been obtained. An increase in polymerization temperature leads to a decrease in the number of branches. Change in olefin pressure does not affect the global number of branches, while it strongly affects the polymer microstructure, leading to hyperbranched structures at low pressures. Further, the simulations confirm the experimental interpretation of the mechanistic details for this process: (1) both 1,2- and 2,1-insertion happen with the ratio of ca. 7:3; (2) there are no insertions at the secondary carbons; and (3) most of the 2,1-insertions are followed by a chain straightening isomerization. Thus, for this catalyst the total number of branches is controlled exclusively by the 1,2-/2,1-insertion ratio. For the catalysts with different substituents the branching can be controlled by a 1,2-/2,1-insertion ratio as well as the fraction of the insertions at the secondary carbons. The results of the present studies demonstrate that a stochastic approach can be successfully used to model the polyolefin microstructures and their catalyst, temperature, and pressure dependence. Further, it can also facilitate interpretation of the experimental results, and can be used to draw general conclusions about the influence of the specific elementary reaction barriers on the polymer structures; this can be helpful for a rational design of the catalysts producing a desired microstructure.     

Ultrahigh Branching of Main‐Chain‐Functionalized Polyethylenes by Inverted Insertion Selectivity

Branched polyolefin microstructures resulting from so‐called “chain walking” are a fascinating feature of late transition metal catalysts; however, to date it has not been demonstrated how desirable branched polyolefin microstructures can be generated thereby. We demonstrate how highly branched polyethylenes with methyl branches (220 Me/1000 C) exclusively and very high molecular weights (ca. 10⁶ g mol^?1), reaching the branch density and microstructure of commercial ethylene–propylene elastomers, can be generated from ethylene alone. At the same time, polar groups on the main chain can be generated by in‐chain incorporation of methyl acrylate. Key to this strategy is a novel rigid environment in an α‐diimine Pd^II catalyst with a steric constraint that allows for excessive chain walking and branching, but restricts branch formation to methyl branches, hinders chain transfer to afford a living polymerization, and inverts the regioselectivity of acrylate insertion to a 1,2‐mode.     

Linear functionalized polyethylene prepared with highly active neutral Ni(II) complexes

Neutral Ni(II) salicylaldimine catalysts (pendant ligand = NCMe or PPh₃) were used to copolymerize ethylene with monomers containing esters, alcohols, anhydrides, and amides and yielded linear functionalized polyethylene in a single step. α‐Olefins and polycyclic olefin comonomers carrying functionality were directly incorporated into the polyethylene backbone by the catalysts without any cocatalyst, catalyst initiator, or other disturber compounds. The degree of comonomer incorporation was related to the monomer structure: tricyclononenes > norbornenes > α‐olefins. A wide range of comonomer incorporation, up to 30 mol %, was achieved while a linear polyethylene structure was maintained under mild conditions (40 °C, 100 psi ethylene). Results from the characterization of the copolymers by solution and solid‐state NMR techniques, thermal analysis, and molecular weight demonstrated that the materials contained a relatively pure microstructure for a functionalized polyethylene that was prepared in one step with no catalyst additive. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 2842–2854, 2002     

Co‐ and terpolymerization of ethylene,propylene, and higher α‐olefins with high propylene contents using metallocene catalysts

The copolymerization of propylene/ethylene and terpolymerization of propylene/ethylene/α‐olefins using long‐chain α‐olefins such as 1‐octene and 1‐decene have been carried out using EtInd₂ZrCl₂//methylaluminoxane. High concentrations of propylene and low concentrations of α‐olefins (near 2 mol % of the total olefin concentration in the liquid phase) were used. The effect of the ethylene concentration in copolymerizations of propylene/α‐olefins was studied at medium ethylene contents (12 and 40 mol % in the gas phase). The polymers were molecularly characterized by gel permeation chromatography‐multiangle laser light scattering, wide‐angle X‐ray scattering, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and DSC analyses. The shorter α‐olefin studied (1‐octene) produced the highest improvement of activity in terpolymerization at 12 mol % ethylene in the gas phase. About 2 mol % of 1‐octene in the liquid phase increases the activity and decreases the molecular weight of terpolymers with respect to corresponding copolymers, whereas the mp is increased by almost 30 °C. The “termonomer effect” is less evident when higher amounts of ethylene are used. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 39: 1136–1148, 2001     

Reactions of Polymer‐Supported α‐Selenoaldehydes with Grignard Regents. A Facile Solid‐Phase Stereoselective Synthesis of (E)‐1,2‐Disubstituted Ethenes

Polymer‐supported α‐selenoaldehydes easily obtained by reaction of polymer‐supported 4‐(phenylseleno)morpholine with aldehydes react with Grignard reagents to form polymer‐supported β‐hydroxyalkyl selenides, which were treated with thionyl chloride/triethylamine leading to (E)‐1,2‐disubstituted ethenes in good yields.     

Tuning Bis(imino)pyridyl Iron‐Catalyzed Ethylene Oligomerization by Modification of MAO with p‐BrPhOH

To reduce the simultaneous production of insoluble polymers during the bis(imino)pyridyl iron‐catalyzed ethylene oligomerization, in this study, p‐BrPhOH (4‐bromophenol) has been chosen as the most optimal modifier for the production of linear α‐olefins. It is found that the polymer share in the total products is largely reduced with the use of p‐BrPhOH as the modifier. The catalytic system also possesses a high activity with the liquid production maintained high level of linearity. Moreover, the introduction of p‐BrPhOH promoted the high‐temperature stability of the catalytic system, leading to the enhanced oligomerization activity as the catalytic system can catalyze ethylene oligomerization at higher temperatures. A characterization of the catalytic system with electron paramagnetic resonance shows that introduction of p‐BrPhOH significantly inhibits the formation of ferric ions, which can be the main active centers responsible for generating undesired insoluble polymers, thus this can largely retard the production of insoluble polymers during ethylene oligomerization.     

Palladium(II) beta-agostic alkyl cations and alkyl ethylene complexes: investigation of polymer chain isomerization mechanisms.

A series of stable dialkyl complexes of Pd, (alpha-diimine)PdR2 (alpha-diimine = aryl-substituted diimine, R = n-Pr, n-Bu, i-Bu), have been prepared via Grignard alkylation of the corresponding (alpha-diimine)PdCl2 complexes. Protonation of these dialkyl species at low temperature results in loss of alkane and formation of cationic Pd beta-agostic alkyl complexes, which have been observed as intermediates in the polymerization of ethylene and propylene by these Pd catalysts. Studies of the structure and dynamic behavior of these alkyl complexes are presented, along with the results of trapping reactions of these species with ligands such as NCMe, CO, and C2H4. Trapping with ethylene results in formation of cationic alkyl ethylene complexes which model the catalyst resting state in these systems. These complexes have been used to obtain mechanistic details and kinetic parameters of several processes, including isomerization of the alkyl ethylene complexes, associative and dissociative exchange with free ethylene, and migratory insertion rates of both primary and secondary alkyl ethylene species. These studies indicate that the overall branching observed in polyethylenes produced by these Pd catalysts is governed both by the kinetics of migratory insertion and by the equilibria involving the alkyl ethylene complexes.     

Olefin Polymerization Catalyzed by Double‐Decker Dipalladium Complexes: Low Branched Poly(α‐Olefin)s by Selective Insertion of the Monomer Molecule

Dipalladium complexes of a cyclic bis(diimine) ligand with a double‐decker structure catalyze polymerization of ethylene and α‐olefins and copolymerization of ethylene with 1‐hexene. The polymerization of 1‐hexene yields a polymer that is mainly composed of the hexamethylene unit formed by 2,1‐insertion of the monomer into the palladium–carbon bond, followed by chain‐walking (6,1‐insertion). The polymerization of 4‐methyl‐1‐pentene proceeds by 2,1‐insertion with a selectivity of 92–97 %, and affords the polymer with methyl and 2‐methylhexyl branches. 2,1‐Insertion occurs selectively in all of the polymerization reactions of α‐olefins catalyzed by the dipalladium complexes. Ethylene polymerization with the catalyst at 100 °C lasts over 24 h, whereas the monopalladium–diimine catalyst loses its activity within 8 h at 60 °C. Polyethylene obtained by the dipalladium catalyst is less‐branched and has a higher molecular weight compared to that of the monopalladium catalyst under the same conditions. Copolymerization of ethylene with 1‐hexene affords solid products with melting points and molecular weights that vary depending on the polymerization time, suggesting formation of a block and/or gradient copolymer.     

Copolymerization of ethylene with linear α‐olefins by 2‐phosphinophenolate nickel catalysts

2‐Dicyclohexyl‐ and 2‐diphenylphosphinophenol, CCHH and PPHH , react with Ni(1,5‐COD)₂ to form catalysts for polymerization of ethylene in or copolymerization with α‐olefins. The more P‐basic CCHH/Ni catalyst allows concentration‐dependent incorporation of olefins to give copolymers with isolated side groups and higher molecular weights, whereas the PPHH/Ni catalyst undergoes mainly stabilizing interactions with the olefins and leads to ethylene oligomers with no or marginal olefin incorporation. Pressure–time plots of the batch reactions show that the ethylene conversion is usually slower by catalysis with CCHH/Ni than by PPHH/Ni . The microstructure of the copolymers was determined by ¹³C NMR spectra, the number of side groups per main chain was estimated by ¹H NMR analyses. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 258–266, 2009     

New palladium(II)-catalyzed asymmetric 1,2-dibromo synthesis

[reaction: see text] The oxidation of olefins by chiral monometallic and bimetallic Pd(II)-Cu(II) catalysts in bromide-containing aqueous-THF reaction mixtures produced chiral 1,2-dibromides. With alpha-olefins, the ee's were about 95% while most of the internal alkenes gave somewhat lower enantioselectivities ( approximately 80%).     

Ethylene Oligomerization by (dppe)MCl_2 [M = Fe(II), Co(II),Ni(II)] Complexes/EAO

Transition-metal-catalyzed oligomerzation of ethylene is an important process to provide a-olefins in the C6~C20 range. In recent years, the catalytic behavior of late transition metal complexes containing bi- and tri-dentate ligands for oligomerization of ethylene to a-olefins has attracted much attention. When oligomerization of ethylene catalyzed by nickel diimine and Fe(II), Co(II) 2,6-bis(imino)pyridine catalysts, the oligomers with high average molecular weight were obtained1-5. Eth…     

Direct and Tandem Routes for the Copolymerization of Ethylene with Polar Functionalized Internal Olefins

Transition metal catalyzed ethylene copolymerization with polar monomers is a highly challenging reaction. After decades of research, the scope of suitable comonomer substrates has expanded from special to fundamental polar monomers and, recently, to 1,1‐disubstituted ethylenes. Described in this contribution is a direct and tandem strategy to realize ethylene copolymerization with various 1,2‐disubstituted ethylenes. The direct route is sensitive to sterics of both the comonomers and the catalyst. In the tandem route, ruthenium‐catalyzed ethenolysis can convert 1,2‐disubstituted ethylenes into terminal olefins, which can be subsequently copolymerized with ethylene to afford polar functionalized polyolefins. The one‐pot, two‐step tandem route is highly versatile and efficient in dealing with challenging substrates. This work is a step forward in terms of expanding the substrate scope for transition metal catalyzed ethylene copolymerization with polar‐functionalized comonomers.     

Selective solid-phase extraction of nickel(II) using a surface-imprinted silica gel sorbent

A new Ni(II)-imprinted amino-functionalized silica gel sorbent with excellent selectivity for nickel(II) was prepared by an easy one-step reaction by combining a surface imprinting technique for selective solid-phase extraction (SPE) of trace Ni(II) in water samples prior to its determination by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). Compared with non-imprinted polymer particles, the ion-imprinted polymers (IIPs) had higher selectivity and adsorption capacity for Ni(II). The maximum static adsorption capacity of the ion-imprinted and non-imprinted sorbent for Ni(II) was 12.61 and 4.25 mg g⁻¹, respectively. The relatively selective factor (α_r) values of Ni(II)/Cu(II), Ni(II)/Co(II), Ni(II)/Zn(II) and Ni(II)/Pd(II) were 45.99, 32.83, 43.79 and 28.36, which were greater than 1. The distribution ratio (D) values of Ni(II)-imprinted polymers for Ni(II) were greatly larger than that for Cu(II), Co(II), Zn(II) and Pd(II). The detection limit (3σ) was 0.16 ng mL⁻¹. The relative standard deviation of the method was 1.48% for eight replicate determinations. The method was validated by analyzing two certified reference materials (GBW 08618 and GBW 08402), the results obtained is in good agreement with standard values. The developed method was also successfully applied to the determination of trace nickel in plants and water samples with satisfactory results.