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Phosphine/Benzocyclone-based Neutral Nickel Catalysts for Ethylene Polymerization and Copolymerization with Polar Monomers

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Abstract

The efficient copolymerization of olefin with polar monomers using nickel-based catalysts presents a longstanding challenge. In this contribution, three phosphine-benzocyclone ligands and corresponding neutral nickel catalysts (Ni1: Ar = Ph; Ni2: Ar = 2-(C6H5)C6H4; Ni3: Ar = 2-[2′,6′-(MeO)2-C6H3]C6H4) were prepared and applied for the ethylene polymerization and copolymerization with polar monomers without any cocatalyst. The bulky substituent groups in complexes Ni2 and Ni3 contributed to high catalytic activities (up to 7.24×106 and 9.04×106 g·molNi−1·h−1, respectively), and produced high-molecular-weight polyethylene (Mw up to 545.7 kDa). Complex Ni3 exhibited high activities for ethylene polymerization at the level of 106 g·molNi−1·h−1 across a wide range from 30 °C to 120 °C, exhibiting excellent high temperature tolerance. These nickel complexes were also effectively employed in the copolymerization of ethylene with methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, butyl acrylate and lauryl acrylate, producing copolymers with high molecular weights (Mw up to 80.5 kDa) and high polar monomer incorporation (up to 8.2 mol%). Microstructure analyses revealed that the introduction of large sterically hindered substituents facilitated the incorporation of polar functional units into the polymer backbone. This study demonstrates the potential of these nickel-based catalysts for efficient copolymerization of olefin with polar monomers.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52130307).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tianjin Key Lab of Composite & Functional Materials, School of Material Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China

    Fei Wang, Li Pan & Yue-Sheng Li

  2. Department of Chemistry, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russian Federation Institution, Leninskie Gory 1, Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation

    Vladislav A. Tuskaev & Svetlana Ch. Gagieva

  3. A N Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vavilova st., 28, Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation

    Vladislav A. Tuskaev

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  1. Fei Wang
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  2. Li Pan
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Phosphine/Benzocyclone-based Neutral Nickel Catalysts for Ethylene Polymerization and Copolymerization with Polar Monomers

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Wang, F., Pan, L., Tuskaev, V.A. et al. Phosphine/Benzocyclone-based Neutral Nickel Catalysts for Ethylene Polymerization and Copolymerization with Polar Monomers. Chin J Polym Sci 42, 202–212 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-023-3044-x

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