Kinetic and mechanism of alkene polymerization

Triphenylmethyl salts of the very weakly-coordinating borate anions CN{B(C₆F₅)₃}₂]⁻ (1), H₂N{(C₆F₅)₃}₂]⁻ and M{CNB(C₆F₅)₃}₄]²⁻ (M = Ni, Pd) have been prepared in simple one-pot reactions. Mixtures of (SBI)ZrMe₂/1/AlBu ₃ ⁱ (SBI = rac-Me₂Si(Ind)₂) are 30–40 times more active in ethylene polymerizations at 60–100°C than (SBI)ZrCl₂/MAO. The quantification of anion effects on propene polymerization activity at 20°C gives the order CN{B(C₆F₅)₃}₂]⁻ > H₂N{(C₆F₅)₃}₂]⁻ ≈ B(C₆F₅) ₄ ⁻ ≫ MeB(C₆F₅)₃]⁻. The highest productivities were of the order of ca. 3.0 × 10⁸ g PP (mol Zr)⁻¹ h⁻¹ C₃H₆]⁻¹, about 1.3–1.5 times higher than with B(C₆F₅) ₄ ⁻ as the counter anion. The titanium system CGCTiMe₂/1/AlBu ₃ ⁱ gave activities that were very similar to the zirconocene catalyst. The concentration of active species C*] as determined by quenched-flow kinetic techniques indicates typical values of around 10%, independent of the counter anion, for both the borate and MAO systems. Pulsed field-gradient spin echo and nuclear Overhauser effect NMR experiments on systems designed to be more realistic models for active species with longer polymeryl chains, (SBI)M(CH₂SiMe₃)(μ-Me)B(C₆F₅)₃ and (SBI)MCH₂SiMe ₃ ⁺ ...B(C₆F₅) ₄ ⁻ ] (M = Zr, Hf), demonstrated the influence of bulky alkyl chains on the ion pair solution structures: while the MeB(C₆F₅)₃ compound exists as a simple inner-sphere ion-pair, the B(C₆F₅) ₄ ⁻ compound is an outer-sphere ion pair (OSIP), a consequence of the relegation of the anion into the second coordination sphere by the γ-agostic interaction with the alkyl ligand. The OSIP aggregates to ion hextuples (10 mM) or quadruples (2 mM). Implications for the polymerization mechanism are discussed; the process follows an associative interchange (I _a) pathway. The text was submitted by the authors in English.