Enhancing performance of α‐diiminonickel precatalyst for ethylene polymerization by substitution with the 2,4‐bis(4,4'‐dimethoxybenzhydryl)‐6‐methylphenyl group

High activities in ethylene polymerization predetermine α‐diiminonickel precatalysts for potential industrial applications. In our study, we have synthesized and characterized a series of unsymmetrical 1‐(2,4‐bis(4,4′‐dimethoxybenzhydryl)‐6‐MeC6H2N)‐2‐arylimino‐acenaphthylene nickel(II) halides. The single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction study of representative compounds reveals distorted tetrahedral geometry. On activation with either Me2AlCl or modified methylaluminoxane, these nickel complexes exhibit high activities of the order of 106 g of PE (mol of Ni)−1 h−1 and produce polyethylene of generic application characterized by high molecular weight, narrow molecular weight distribution, and mod…