Enhancing Performance of a Bis(arylimino)pyridine‐Iron Precatalyst for Ethylene Polymerization by Substitution with a 2,4‐Bis(4,4′‐dimethoxybenzhydryl)‐6‐methylphenyl Group

A series of unsymmetrical 2-(2,4-bis(bis(4-methoxyphenyl)methyl)-6-MeC6H2N)-6-(1-(arylimino)ethyl)pyridine-iron halides has been synthesized and characterized. The molecular structure of two representative species was determined by the single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Activated with either MAO or MMAO, the precatalysts displayed high activity, reaching 2.19×107 g PE (mol Fe)−1 h−1 at 60 °C in ethylene polymerization. The microstructural analysis of the polymers obtained indicates highly linear polyethylene containing a vinyl chain end.