Nickel(II) complexes bearing phosphinooxazoline ligands: Synthesis, structures and their ethylene oligomerization behaviors

A series of Ni(II) complexes 4a-f ligated by the unsymmetrical phosphino-oxazolines (PHOX) were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis and IR spectroscopy, and the structures of complexes 4c-4e were confirmed by the X-ray crystallographic analysis. All derivatives showed distorted tetrahedron geometry by the nickel center and coordinative atoms. Upon activation with methylaluminoxane (MAO) or Et₂AlCl, these complexes exhibited considerable to high activity of ethylene oligomerization. The ligands environments and reaction conditions significantly affect their catalytic activities, while the highest oligomerization activity (up to 1.18 × 10⁶ g · mol⁻¹(Ni) · h⁻¹) was observed for 4d at 20 atm of ethylene. Incorporation of 2-4 equivalents of PPh₃ as auxiliary ligands in the 4a-f/MAO catalytic systems led to higher activity and longer catalytic lifetime.