(Phenylboratabenzene)zirconium Complexes: Tuning the Reactivity of an Olefin Polymerization Catalyst

Abstract

The reaction of 2 equiv of lithium 1-phenylboratabenzene with ZrCl4 in ether affords bis(1-phenylboratabenzene)zirconium dichloride (2), while [4-tert-C4H9C5H4BPh]2ZrCl2 (3), obtained in a similar manner, was subjected to a single-crystal X-ray diffraction study. The reaction of a solution of 2 and methylaluminoxane (MAO) with C2H4 (1 atm, 25 °C) affords ethylene oligomers (dimers of 1-alkenes as the major product, together with minor amounts of 1- and 2-alkenes).