Cycloheptyl-fused N,N,N'-chromium catalysts with selectivity for vinyl-terminated polyethylene waxes: thermal optimization and polymer functionalization.

Five chromium(iii) chloride complexes, [2-{(Ar)N[double bond, length as m-dash]CMe}-9-{N(Ar)}C10H10N]CrCl3 (Ar = 2,6-Me2C6H3Cr1, 2,6-Et2C6H3Cr2, 2,6-i-Pr2C6H3Cr3, 2,4,6-Me3C6H2Cr4, 2,6-Et2-4-MeC6H2Cr5), each chelated by a sterically and electronically different cycloheptyl-fused N,N,N'-bis(imino)pyridine, have been synthesized by the reactions of CrCl3(THF)3 with the corresponding ligand (L1/L1'-L5/L5'). The molecular structure of Cr2 highlights both the steric properties exerted by the inequivalent N-2,6-ethylphenyl groups and the puckering of the fused cycloheptyl ring; a distorted octahedral geometry is conferred about the metal center. On activation with methylaluminoxane (MAO) or modified MAO (MMAO), Cr1-Cr5 displayed their optimal activity for ethylene polymerization at temperatures between 70 and 80 °C with the least sterically demanding Cr1 proving the most productive (1.44 × 107 g (PE) per mol (Cr) per h). The polyethylenes formed are of low molecular weight (Mw range: 0.66-3.56 kg mol-1) with narrow molecular weight distributions and display high levels of end-group unsaturation. Furthermore, the amenability of these vinyl-terminated polyethylenes to undergo functionalization via epoxidation has been demonstrated.