Neutral Nickel Catalysts for Olefin Homo- and Copolymerization: Relationships between Catalyst Structures and Catalytic Properties

Neutral Nickel Catalysts for Olefin Homo- and Copolymerization: Relationships between Catalyst Structures and Catalytic Properties

Hongliang Mu,† Li Pan,*,‡ Dongpo Song,§ and Yuesheng Li*,†,‡
† State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China ‡ School of Material Science and Engineering, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China § Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 120 Governors Drive, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States

Chemical Reviews: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/cr500370f
DOI: 10.1021/cr500370f

Abstract: As one milestone in the history of polymerization chemistry, the work of Ziegler and Natta has led to the rapid commercialization of transition metal catalysts for the production of high molecular weight polyolefins.1−4 However, the heterogeneous nature of Ziegler−Natta catalytic systems has hindered better understanding of the polymerization mechanisms, resulting in great difficulties in the design of new catalysts. The advance of homogeneous single-site metallocene catalysts together with the discovery of methylaluminoxane (MAO) is a real breakthrough in understanding the relationship between catalyst structure and catalytic behaviors in olefin polymerization. A more precise control over polymer microstructures has been achieved through modification of the metallocene catalytic systems,5−7 which greatly invigorates the development of new single-site catalysts (postmetallocene catalysts) based on both early and late transition metals.8−17