Alkylaluminum activator effects on polyethylene branching using a N,N′‐nickel precatalyst appended with bulky 4,4′‐dimethoxybenzhydryl groups

Ten unsymmetrical N,N'‐bis (imino) acenaphthene‐nickel (II) halide complexes, [1‐[2,6‐{(4‐MeOC₆H₄)₂CH}₂–4‐MeC₆H₂N]‐2‐(ArN)C₂C₁₀H₆]NiX₂, each appended with one N‐2,6‐bis(4,4'‐dimethoxybenzhydryl)‐4‐methylphenyl group, have been synthesized and characterized. The molecular structures of Ni1 , Ni3 , Ni5 and Ni6 highlight the variation in steric protection afforded by the inequivalent N‐aryl groups; a distorted tetrahedral geometry is conferred about each nickel center. On activation with diethylaluminum chloride (Et₂AlCl) or methylaluminoxane (MAO), all complexes showed high activity at 30°C for the polymerization of ethylene with the least bulky bromide precatalysts ( Ni1 and Ni4 ), generally the most productive, forming polyethylenes with narrow dispersities [M_w/M_n: < 3.4 (Et₂AlCl), < 4.1 (MAO)] and various levels of branching. Significantly, this level of branching can be influenced by the type of co‐catalyst employed, with Et₂AlCl having a predilection towards polymers displaying significantly higher branching contents than with MAO [T_m: 33.0–82.5°C (Et₂AlCl) vs. 117.9–119.4°C (MAO)]. On the other hand, the molecular weights of the materials obtained with each co‐catalyst were high and, in some cases, entering the ultra‐high molecular weight range [M_w range: 6.8–12.2 × 10⁵ g mol^?1 (Et₂AlCl), 7.2–10.9 × 10⁵ g mol^?1 (MAO)]. Furthermore, good tensile strength (ε_b up to 553.5%) and elastic recovery (up to 84%) have been displayed by selected more branched polymers highlighting their elastomeric properties.