Emerging Palladium and Nickel Catalysts for Copolymerization of Olefins with Polar Monomers

Ultrahigh Branching of Main-Chain-Functionalized Polyethylenes by Inverted Insertion Selectivity

Branched polyolefin microstructures resulting from so-called "chain walking" are a fascinating feature of late transition metal catalysts; however, to date it has not been demonstrated how desirable branched polyolefin microstructures can be generated thereby. We demonstrate how highly branched polyethylenes with methyl branches (220 Me/1000 C) exclusively and very high molecular weights (ca. 106  g mol-1 ), reaching the branch density and microstructure of commercial ethylene-propylene elastomers, can be generated from ethylene alone. At the same time, polar groups on the main chain can be generated by in-chain incorporation of methyl acrylate. Key to this strategy is a novel rigid environment in an α-diimine PdII catalyst with a steric constraint that allows for excessive chain walking and branching, but restricts branch formation to methyl branches, hinders chain transfer to afford a living polymerization, and inverts the regioselectivity of acrylate insertion to a 1,2-mode.

A Self-Supporting Strategy for Gas-Phase and Slurry-Phase Ethylene Polymerization using Late-Transition-Metal Catalysts

The polyolefin industry is dominated by gas-phase and slurry-phase polymerization using heterogeneous catalysts. In contrast, academic research is focused on homogeneous systems, especially for late-transition-metal catalysts. The heterogenization of homogeneous catalysts is a general strategy to provide catalyst solutions for existing industrial polyolefin synthesis. Herein, we report an alternative, potentially general strategy for using homogeneous late-transition-metal catalysts in gas-phase and slurry-phase polymerization. In this self-supporting strategy, catalysts with moderate chain-walking capabilities produced porous polymer supports during gas-phase ethylene polymerization. Chain walking, in which the metal center can move up and down the polymer chain during polymerization, ensures that the metal center can travel along the polymer chain to find suitable sites for ethylene enchainment. This strategy enables simple heterogenization of catalysts on solid supports for slurry-phase polymerization. Most importantly, various branched ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylenes can be prepared under various polymerization conditions with proper catalyst selection.

Pd-Iminocarboxylate Complexes and Their Behavior in Ethylene Polymerization

Designing co-catalyst-free late transition metal complexes for ethylene polymerization is a challenging task at the interface of organometallic and polymer chemistry. Herein, a set of new, co-catalyst-free, single-component catalytic systems for ethylene polymerization have been unraveled. Treatment of anthranilic acid with various aldehydes produced four iminocarboxylate ligands (L1-L4) in very good to excellent yield (75-92 %). The existence of 2-((2-methoxybenzylidene)amino) benzoic acid (L1) has been unambiguously demonstrated using NMR spectroscopy, MS and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. A neutral Pd-iminocarboxylate complex [{N O}PdMe(L1)] (N O=κ² -N,O-ArCHNC₆ H₄ CO₂ with Ar=2-MeOC₆ H₄ ) C1 was prepared by treating stoichiometric amount of L1.Na with palladium precursor. The identity of C1 was confirmed by 1-2D NMR spectroscopy and single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies. Along the same lines, palladium complexes C2-C4 were prepared from ligands L2-L4 respectively. In-situ high-pressure NMR investigations revealed that these Pd complexes are amenable to ethylene insertion and undergo facile β-H elimination to produce propylene. These palladium complexes were then evaluated in ethylene polymerization reaction and various reaction parameters were screened. When C1-C4 were exposed to ethylene pressures of 10-50 bar, formation of low-molecular-weight polyethylene was observed.

Carbonylative cycloaddition between two different alkenes enabled by reactive directing groups: expedited construction of bridged polycyclic skeletons

A novel palladium-catalyzed highly selective hydrocarbonylative cycloaddition reaction with two different alkenes in the presence of CO enabled by a reactive directing-group is developed, which offers efficient access to bicyclo[2,2,2]lactones.