Density functional theory study of the interaction of CP2*ZrCH 3+ (Cp* = C5H5, C5Me5, and C13H9) with ethylene molecule

Density functional theory was used to study gas-phase reactions between the Cp₂*ZrMe⁺ cations, where Cp* = C₅H₅ (1), Me₅Cp = C₅Me₅ (2), and Flu = C₁₃H₉ (3), and the ethylene molecule, Cp₂*ZrMe⁺ + C₂H₄ → Cp₂*ZrPr⁺ → Cp₂*ZrAllyl⁺ + H₂. The reactivity of the Cp₂*ZrMe⁺ cations with respect to the ethylene molecule decreased in the series 1 > 3 ≈ 2. Substitution in the Cp ring decreased the reactivity of the Cp₂*ZrMe⁺ cations toward ethylene, in agreement with the experimental data on the comparative reactivities of complexes 1 and 3. The two main energy barriers along the reaction path (the formation of the C-C bond leading to the primary product Cp₂*ZrPr⁺ and hydride shift leading to the secondary product Cp₂*Zr(H₂)Allyl⁺) vary in opposite directions in the series of the compounds studied. For Flu (3), these barriers are close to each other, and for the other compounds, the formation of the C-C bond requires the overcoming of a higher energy barrier. A comparison of the results obtained with the data on the activity of zirconocene catalysts in real catalytic systems for the polymerization of ethylene led us to conclude that the properties of the catalytic center changed drastically in the passage from the model reaction in the gas phase to real catalytic systems.