Work

Switchable Synthesis of Ethylene/Acrylate Copolymers by a Dinickel Catalyst: Evidence for Chain Growth on Both Nickel Centers and Concepts of Cation Exchange Polymerization

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide A dinickel complex, X-Ni 2, was developed and demonstrated to have a high performance in ethylene/acrylate copolymerization. Further mechanistic studies revealed that X-Ni 2 performs acrylate insertion at both Ni centers at distinct rates. Addition of NaBAr F 24 to X-Ni 2 leads to 1:1 binding and serves as a switch for tuning catalytic activity, copolymer MW and acrylate incorporation. NMR studies of cation binding, when present in substoichiometric amounts, suggest a dynamic process involving cation exchange. This phenomenon provides an alternative strategy for controlling chain growth in polar polyolefin synthesis and was probed herein.

Source: ACS Catalysis

DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.4c00156