A New Type of Polymer-Supported Metallocene Catalyst for Ethylene Polymerization

A new polymer-supported metallocene catalyst has been prepared, The polymer-supported metallocene displayed considerably high activity in ethylene polymerization, the highest being 3.62x10(7) gPE/molZr.h, the molecular weight of the polyethylene produced was Mn = 1.29x10(5). about 3-4 times those of corresponding homogeneous zirconocenes. The polymer-supported metallocene keeps the characteristics of homogeneous metallocene catalysts, and offers some features, such as adaptable to gas phase and slurry processes: easy to prepare in low cost: relatively high activity and lower MAO/Zr ratio; lower inorganic residues in the polyolefins as compared to cases of SiO2, Al2O3 or MgCl2; unitary active structure, no complex surface as with SiO2; good control of morphology of the resulting polymer.

2-AMINOMETHYLPYRIDINE NICKEL(Ⅱ) COMPLEXES—SYNTHESIS,MOLECULAR STRUCTURE AND CATALYSIS OF ETHYLENE POLYMERIZATION

A series of new nickel(Ⅱ)complexes with 2-aminomethylpyridine ligands,(2-PyCH_2NHAr)_2NiBr_2(Ar=2,6- dimethylphenyl 2a;2,6-diisopropylphenyl 2b,2,6-difluorophenyl 2c),have been synthesized and used as catalyst precursors for ethylene polymerization in the presence of methylaluminoxane(MAO).The catalysts containing ortho-alkyl-substituents afford high molecular weight branched polyethylenes as well as a certain amount of oligomers.Enhancing the steric bulk of the alkyl substituent of the catalyst resulted in...

PREPARATION OF NOVEL POLYETHYLENE-graft-POLY(4-VINYLPYRIDINE)-SUPPORTED METALLOCENE CATALYSTS FOR ETHYLENE POLYMERIZATION

Polyethylene (PE) grafting 4-vinylpyridine copolymers has been produced as powders of different rushes by theirradiation method. After treatment with methylaluminoxane (MAO), the copolymers were used as supports for Cp_2ZrCl_2catalyst Results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet spectroscopy andscanning electron microscope measurements show that the catalytic sites have been linked through MAO on the PE-graft-4-vinylpyridine (PEVP). The percentages of grafting 4-vinylpyridine and supported Cp_2ZrCl_2 depend on the size ofpolyethylene powder. The smaller the polyethylene powder, the more percent of 4-vinylpyridine groups and Cp_2ZrCl_2 existon the polyethylene chains, and the PEVP-supported catalyst has a relatively high activity for ethylene polymerization.

Ethylene Polymerization Catalyzed by Monocyclopentadienyl Titanium Complex Containing 8-Quinolinolato Ligand and ADF Study on the Formation Mechanism of Active Species

A monocyclopentadienyl titanium complex containing 8-quinolinolato (QCpTiCl_2) was synthesized. Its activities in ethylene polymerization at various Al/Ti molar ratios, different temperatures and activation time were investigated. The activity with a Al/Ti molar ratio of 500 exhibited a maximum of 2.8×10~5 g/(mol.h) at 30℃. The activation time of QCpTiCl_2 with MAO before polymerization also plays a role on the activity. The structural properties of the produced polyethylene (molecular weight, molecular weight distribution and melting point) were discussed. Kinetic behaviors of ethylene polymerization with the QCpTiCl_2/MAO system at different Al/Ti molar ratios were studied. For the QCpTiMeCl/MAO system and the CpTiMe_2Cl/MAO system, binding energies of the examined intermediates were calculated by quantum-mechanical method based on ADF program, respectively. It is confirmed that the chlorinebridged adduct formed by the reaction of QCpTiMeCl with MAO is thermodynamically steady. In the case of the QCpTiMeCl/MAO system, olefin-separated ion pair (OSIP) mechanism is much favorable than ion-pair dissociation (IPD) mechanism. The experimental result on the CpTiMe_2Cl/MAO system showed lower activity for ethylene polymerization than that on the QCpTiMeCl/MAO system, which revealed that the CpTiMe_2Cl/MAO system is unfavorable to form active species with ethylene.

Characteristics of Titanocene Catalyst Supported on Palygorskite for Ethylene Polymerization

A series of heterogeneous catalysts with Cp2TiCl2 supported on palygorskite were prepared and evaluated by ethylene slurry polymerizations. The so-called direct supported catalyst, for which the pretreatment of palygorskite with MAO or Al（i-Bu）3 was not necessary, gave the highest activity among these supported catalysts and could be more robust than homogeneous Cp2TiCl2. With the direct supported catalyst, no significant activity loss was observed under low Al/Ti molar ratios （Al/Ti=300） and the decay of polymerization rate was slower when compared to the other supported catalysts. It was found that the surface Lewis acidity of palygorskite after thermal treatment played an important role in activation of metallocene compound and resulted in high catalyst activity.

THE BEHAVIOR OF HOMOGENEOUS IRON-BASED CATALYSTS BEARING PYRIDINE DIIMINE LIGANDS FOR ETHYLENE POLYMERIZATION

The polymerization of ethylene by two iron-based catalysts, {[2,6-ArN=C(Me)(2)C5H3N]FeCl2} (Ar = 2,6-C6H3-Me-2 I; 2,6-C6H3 (i-Pr)(2) II) has been investigated. Catalyst II produces higher molecular weight polyethylene (PE) and broadened polydispersities relative to catalyst I under analogous conditions and all polymers are linear. The kinetic profiles with iron catalysts showed a smooth pattern during both rate build-up and rate lowering, which are different from the metallocene catalysts. The polymerization activity increases with Al/Fe value and an optimum temperature range at 40 similar to 45 degreesC was observed. The molecular weight of PE decreases with the increase of Al/Fe ratio and rise of polymerization temperature.

SYNTHESIS OF NOVEL THIOPHENEDIMETHYLENE BRIDGED HOMOBINUCLEAR METALLOCENES AND THEIR CATALYTIC PROPERTIES FOR ETHYLENE POLYMERIZATION

By treating disodium（thiophenedimethylene）dicyclopentadienide C4H2S（CH2C5H4Na）2 with two equivalent of CpTiCl3 or CpZrC13 DME at 0℃ in THF, two new thiophenedimethylene bridged binuclear metallocenes [Cl2MC5H5][C5H4CH2C4H2SCH2C5H4][C5H5MCl2] （M = Ti 3, M = Zr 4） were synthesized in high yield and their structures were characterized by ^1H-NMR. These complexes were used as catalysts for ethylene polymerization in the presence of methylaluminoxane （MAO）. The effects of polymerization temperature, time, concentration of catalyst, molar ratio of MAO/Cat on polymerization were studied in detail. The catalytic activities of thiophenedimethylene bridged binuclear metallocene catalysts （3, 4） reached 2.44 × 10^5 g PE mol^-1 cat^-1· h^-1, 9.61 × 10^5 g PE mol^-1 · cat^-1· h^-1 respectively, which are higher than that of pheneyldimethylene bridged binuclear metallocene catalysts and much higher than that of corresponding mononuclear metallocenes （Cp2TiCl2 and Cp2ZrCl2）. The molecular weight distribution curves of polyethylenes produced by binuclear metallocene catalysts （3, 4） and by mononuclear metallocene catalyst have only single peak, but the former （MWD = 3.5-4.7） is obviously broader than the latter （MWD = 2.0-2.2）.

Ethylene Polymerization by a Novel Dinuclear Heter-oligated Titanium Complex with the Ligand of (Salicylaldiminato) (β-enaminoketonato)

The condensation of acetylacetone （CH3COCH2COCH3） with benzdine （H2N-C6H4-C6H4-NH2） yielded diimine ligand 1 [HOC（Me）C（H）（Me）C=N（p-C6H4）（C6H4-p）N= C（Me）C（H）C（Me）OH）], which was converted into sodium salts. And then the sodium salts reacted with monosalicylaldiminato titanium complex 2{[3,5-di-But′2-（O）C6H2CHN（PH）]TiCl3（THF）} in dried dichloromethane to give a new benzdine-bridged binuclear complex 3{[3,5-di-Bu′-2-（O）C6H2CHN（PH）]2 [OC（Me）C（H）（Me）C=N（p-C6H4）-（C6H4-p）N=C（Me）C（H） C（Me）]Ti2Cl4}. The complex 3 was characterized by ^1HNMR and elemental analysis. In the presence of MAO（methylaluminoxane）, the complex 3 in toluene was effective to catalyze polymerization, affording moderately high catalytic activity 1.93 × 10^5 g PE/（mol.Ti.h）]and high molecular weight polyethylene [5.63× 10^5 g/moll. The high temperature gel permeation chromatography （GPC） curve of polyethylene obtained revealed a single peak, but the molecular weight distribution （MWD = 3.21） is obviously broader than that of the similar mononuclear titanium complex. The melting points of the obtained polyethylene reaches 138 ℃, indicating that the polyethylene is of high crystallinity.

High Temperature Iron Ethylene Polymerization Catalysts Bearing N,N,N'-2-(1-(2,4-Dibenzhydryl-6-fluorophenylimino)ethyl)-6-(1-(arylphenylimino)ethyl)pyridines

The N,N,N'-ferrous chloride complexes,[2-{CMeN(2,4-(CHPh)_(2)-6-FC_(6)H_(2))}-6-(CMeNAr)C_(5)H_(3)N]FeCl_(2)(Ar=2,6-Me_(2)C_(6)H_(3) Fe1,2,6-Et_(2)C_(6)H_(3)Fe2,2,6-^(i)Pr_(2)C_(6)H_(3) Fe3,2,4,6-Me_(3)C_(6)H_(2) Fe4 and 2,6-Et_(2)-4-MeC_(6)H_(2) Fe5),each possessing one N-2,4-dibenzhydryl-6-fluorophenyl group,were readily synthesized from their respective unsymmetrical bis(imino)pyridines,L1-L5.Structural identification of Fe2 highlighted the variation in the steric properties provided by the dissimilar N-aryl groups.Following pre-treatment with either MAO or MMAO,complexes Fe1-Fe5 all displayed,at an operating temperature of 80℃,high activities for ethylene polymerization with levels falling in the order:Fe4> Fe1> Fe5> Fe2> Fe3.Notably,Fe4/MAO displayed the highest activity of 1.94×10^(7) g_(PE)·mol_(Fe)^(-1)·h^(-1) of the study with only a modest loss in performance at 90℃.Generally,the resulting polyethylenes were highly linear(T_(m) range:122-132℃),narrowly disperse and of low molecular weight(M_(w) range:6.73-46.04kg·mol^(-1)),with the most sterically hindered Fe3 forming the highest molecular weight polymer of the series.End-group analysis by ^(1)H-and ^(13)CNMR spectroscopy revealed saturated alkyl(n-propyl and i-propyl) and unsaturated vinyl chain ends indicative of the role of both β-H elimination and chain transfer to aluminum as termination pathways.By comparison with previou sly reported iron precatalysts with similar tridentate ligand skeletons,it is evident that the introduction of a large benzhydryl group in combination with a fluorine as the ortho-substituents of one N-aryl group has the effect of enhancing thermal stability of the iron polymerization catalyst whilst maintaining appreciable polymer molecular weight.

Phosphine/Benzocyclone-based Neutral Nickel Catalysts for Ethylene Polymerization and Copolymerization with Polar Monomers

The efficient copolymerization of olefin with polar monomers using nickel-based catalysts presents a longstanding challenge. In this contribution, three phosphine-benzocyclone ligands and corresponding neutral nickel catalysts(Ni1: Ar = Ph;Ni2: Ar = 2-(C_(6)H_(5))C_(6)H_(4);Ni3: Ar = 2-[2',6'-(Me O)_(2)-C_(6)H3]C_(6)H_(4)) were prepared and applied for the ethylene polymerization and copolymerization with polar monomers without any cocatalyst. The bulky substituent groups in complexes Ni2 and Ni3 contributed to high catalytic activities(up to 7.24×10^(6) and 9.04×10^(6)g·mol Ni^(-1)·h^(-1), respectively), and produced high-molecular-weight polyethylene(Mw up to 545.7 k Da). Complex Ni3 exhibited high activities for ethylene polymerization at the level of 10^(6) g·mol Ni^(-1)·h^(-1) across a wide range from 30 ℃ to 120 ℃, exhibiting excellent high temperature tolerance. These nickel complexes were also effectively employed in the copolymerization of ethylene with methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, butyl acrylate and lauryl acrylate, producing copolymers with high molecular weights(Mw up to 80.5 k Da) and high polar monomer incorporation(up to 8.2 mol%). Microstructure analyses revealed that the introduction of large sterically hindered substituents facilitated the incorporation of polar functional units into the polymer backbone. This study demonstrates the potential of these nickel-based catalysts for efficient copolymerization of olefin with polar monomers.

Peculiarities of Ethylene Polymerization Reactions with Bis(imino)pyridyl Complexes of CoCl_(2) and FeCl_(2)

The article describes ethylene polymerization reactions with transition metal catalysts based on complexes of CoCl_(2) and FeCl_(2) with an N,N,N-tridentate ligand 2,6-bis[1-(2,6-dimethylphenylimino)ethyl]pyridine. The complexes are converted into polymerization catalysts by reacting them either with polymethylalumoxane (MAO) or with a combination of Al(C2H5)2Cl and Mg(C4H9)2 at an [Al]:[Mg] ratio of ~3. Both MAO-activated complexes readily polymerize ethylene at 35 ℃ with the formation of linear, low molecular weight polymers with a narrow molecular weight distribution. The same complexes, when activated with the Al(C2H5)2Cl-Mg(C4H9)2 combination, form multi-center catalysts and generate polyethylenes with a broad molecular weight distribution.

Heterogeneousα-Diimine Nickel Catalysts with Improved Catalytic Performance in Ethylene Polymerization

Heterogenization can improve the thermal tolerance of olefin polymerization catalysts and result in good product morphology con-trol,which are two important parameters for industrial polyethylene production.In this work,α-diimine nickel catalysts bearing-OH or-ONa anchoring groups were designed and prepared.The anchoring groups can enable facile heterogenization of the cata-lysts on silica.The heterogeneous catalysts demonstrated enhanced thermal stabilities,along with high catalytic activity at 120℃(up to 5.5×10^(6)g·PE·mol·Ni^(-1)·h^(-1)).Furthermore,the heterogenization process results in the improvements of many other parame-ters,including polymer morphology control,catalytic activity(up to 1.9×10^(7)g·PE·mol·Ni^(-1)·h^(-1))and polyethylene molecular weight(Mn up to 2.3×10^(6)g·mol^(-1)).More importantly,the structure and properties of the polymer products can be controlled by catalyst structures,polymerization conditions and heterogenization to achieve good mechanical properties and elasticity.

Styrene-containing Phosphine-sulfonate Ligands for Nickel-and Palladium-catalyzed Ethylene Polymerization

A series of phosphine-sulfonate ligands bearing 2-,3-and 4-vinylphenyl on the phosphorus atom were designed,synthesized,characterized and investigated in Ni-and Pd-catalyzed ethylene polymerization.The structure of the phosphine-sulfonate Pd complex bearing 2-vinylphenyl on the phosphorus atom showed 2,1-insertion for the 2-vinyl group.The phosphine-sulfonate Ni complex bearing 2-vinylphenyl resulted in significantly increased thermal stability and polyethylene molecular weights(Mn=3.69×10^(4)g·mol^(-1) at 80℃)versus the counterparts bearing 3-/4-vinyl groups as well as previously reported phosphine-sulfonate Ni complexes bearing bulky biaryl substituents.

Copolymerization of Ethylene with Dicyclopentadiene Using a Constrained Geometry Cyclopentadienyl-phenoxytitanium Catalyst

The copolymerization of ethylene with dieyclopentadiene （DCP） in the presence of a constrained geometry tetramethylcyclopentadi-enyl-phenoxytitanium catalyst [ 2,4-＇ Bu2-6-（ 2,3,4,5-Me4 -Cp ） -PhO ] TICl2, combined with AI（ iBu）3/Ph3C^＋ B（ CsF5 ）4^- cocatalyst system was studied. The copolymers that were formed were characterized by ＇ H and ,3 C NMR, differential scanning calorimetry （ DSC）, SEM, and X-ray diffraction （XRD） analyses. The re- suits of the analysis indicate that the copolymers of ethylene with dicyclopentadiene are amorphous and display two or more melting temperatures in their DSC diagrams. Moreover, the morphologies of the copolymers are quite different from that of polyethylenes.

HIGH ACTIVITY AND GOOD HYDROGEN RESPONSE SILICA-SUPPORTED ZIEGLER-NATTA CATALYST FOR ETHYLENE POLYMERIZATION

A silica-supported Ziegler-Natta catalyst with dimethyldichlorosilane （DMDS） as modifier and small silica as support was successfully prepared and characterized. Results from pilot screen showed that the new catalyst exhibited higher catalytic activity, better hydrogen response ability and better copolymerization ability than the commercial M catalyst. Pilot screen in ethylene gas phase fluidized bed polymerization, the catalytic activity of the new catalyst was up to 8000 g PE/g cat, which was twice of that of the commercial M catalyst. The bulk density of polyethylene obtained with the new catalyst was 0.38 g/cm^3. The new catalyst is suitable for condensed and super-condensed process in fluidized bed ethylene polymerization.

Thermostable α-Diimine Nickel Complexes with Substituents on Acenaphthequinone-backbone for Ethylene Polymerization

In order to promote the thermostability of a-diimine nickel complex by ligand backbone structure,a series of α-diimine nickel complexes with substituents on acenaphthequinone backbone were synthesized and used as catalysts for ethylene polymerization.When the hydroxyethyl phenoxyl group was introduced to the acenaphthequinone-backbone,the thermal stability and activity of the catalyst could be significantly improved.The catalytic activity of complex C2[5-(4-(2-hydroxyethyl)phenoxyl)-N,N-bis(2,6-diisopropyl)acenaphthylene-1,2-diimine]nickel(Ⅱ)dibromide with isopropyl substituents on N-aryl reached 8.2×10^6g/(molNi·h)at 70℃and 2 MPa.The activity of[5-(4-(2-hydroxyethyl)phenoxyl)-N,N-bis(2,6-dibenzhydryl-4-menthylphenyl)acenaphthylene-1,2-diimine]nickel(Ⅱ)dibromide(C3)still maintained at 6.7×10^5 g/(molNi·h)at 120℃.Compared with C3 containing bulky dibenzhydryl substituents,the activity of C2 was sensitive to the change of the polymerization pressure.However,the polyethylenes obtained from complex C3 had lower branching density.Meanwhile,the molecular weight could reach 971 kg/mol,which is almost 5 times as much as that of the polyethylene obtained from complex C2.

Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes as a Ligand in Nickel ?-Diimine Based Ethylene Polymerization

Two novel heterogeneous nickel a-diimine based polymerization catalysts, containing MWCNT as the main ligand, were synthesized by novel in situ catalyst preparation technique. The in situ synthesis was performed by covalent attachment of the acenaphthenic ligand core to amine functionalized MWCNT ligand arms through diimine bonding and further nickel dibromide chelation. The prepared catalysts were fully characterized and their structures and supporting efficiencies were determined. Single or double introduction of the MWCNTs through their ends or sidewall（s） in the catalytic system, as a ligand, influenced the catalytic performance, microstructure and morphology of obtained polyethylenes. MWCNT sidewall bonding to para-aryl position of the tetramethylphenyl moiety performed as more electron-donating ligand than MWCNT ends linked to the imine bond and protected the catalytic system to retain its activity. This character resulted in the maintenance of the resulting polymer topology at elevated temperatures so that the catalytic activity and the obtained polymer melting points remained around 110 g PE·mmol^-1 Ni·h^-1 and 123 ℃ in all polymerization temperatures respectively. In polymerization trials, molecular weight fall against temperature was not as sharp as what had been observed in sequentially prepared catalysts insofar as the molecular weight of resultant polymer at 60 ℃ reached to 310000 g·mol^-1 which was close to the highest value had been reported at 30 ℃ for sequentially prepared catalysts. TEM observations showed the presence of the stopped-growth polymer chains due to geometrical constrains or ligand debonding for both catalytic systems.

SYNTHESES,CHARACTERIZATION AND ETHYLENE POLYMERIZATION OF HALF-SANDWICH GROUP IV METAL COMPLEXES WITH TRIDENTATE [O,N,S] LIGANDS

A series of half-sandwich group IV metal complexes with tridentate monoanionic phenoxy-imine arylsulfide [O-NS] ligand [2-Bu^t4-Me-6-（（2-（SC6H5）C6H4N = CHC6H2O）]- （La） and dianionic phenoxy-amine arylsulfide [O-N-S] ligand [2-Bu^t4-Me-6-（（2-（SC6H5）C6H4N-CH2C6H2O）]2- （Lb） have been synthesized and characterized. Lb was obtained easily in high yield by reduction of ligand La with excess LiAlH4 in cool diethyl ether. Half-sandwich Group Ⅳ metal complexes CpTi[O-NS]Cl2 （1a）, CpZr[O-NS]Cl2 （1b）, CpTi[O-N-S]Cl （2a）, CpZr[O-N-S]Cl （2b） and CpZr[O-N-S]Cl （2c） were synthesized by the reactions of La and Lb with CpTiCl3, CpZrCl3 and Cp ZrCl3, and characterized by IR, ^1H-NMR, ^13C-NMR and elemental analysis. In addition, an X-ray structure analysis was performed on ligand Lb. The title Group IV half-sandwich bearing tridentate [O,N,S] ligands show good catalytic activities for ethylene polymerization in the presence of methylaluminoxane （MAO） as co-catalyst up to 1.58 × 10^7 g-PE.mol-Zr-1.h-1. The good catalytic activities can be maintained even at high temperatures such as 100 ℃ exhibiting the excellent thermal stability for these half-sandwich metal pre-catalysts.

Introduction of Constrained Cyclic Skeleton into β-Enaminoketonato Vanadium Complexes： A Strategy for Stabilization of Active Centre of Vanadium Catalyst for Ethylene Polymerization

Several novel mono（β-enaminoketonato） vanadium complexes bearing constrained [（C6Hs）C6H3C（O）=C（CH2）nCH=N-Ar]VCl2（THF）2 （V3a： n = 1, Ar = C6H5; V4a： n = 2, Ar cyclic skeleton, including C6H5; V4b： n = 2, Ar C6F5; V4c： n = 2, Ar = （C3H7）2C6H3; V5a： n = 3, Ar = C6H5）, were synthesized and their structure and properties were characterized. The structures of V4c and V5a in solid-state were further confirmed by X-ray crystallographic analysis. Density functional theory （DFT） results indicated that these complexes showed enhanced steric hindrance around the metal center as compared with the acyclic analogues. Upon activation with Et2AlCl and in the presence of ethyl trichloroacetate as a reactivator, all of the complexes exhibited high catalytic activities （107 gPE/（molv.h）） toward ethylene polymerization, and the obtained polymers exhibited unimodal distributions （Mw/Mn = 2.0-2.3） even produced at elevated temperatures （70-100 ℃） and prolonged reaction time. When MAO was employed as a cocatalyst, they only showed moderate catalytic activities （10^5 gPE/（molv·h））, but the resulting polymers had higher molecular weights （168-241 kg/mol）. These vanadium complexes with cyclic skeleton also showed high catalytic activities toward ethylene/norbornene copolymerization. The produced copolymers displayed approximate alternating structure at high in-feed concentration of norbornene. The catalytic capabilities of these complexes could be tuned conveniently by varying ligand structure. Furthermore, the cyclic voltammetry results also proved that these complexes exhibited better redox stabilities than the complexes bearing linear skeleton.

Investigating the Effects of Para-methoxy Substitution in Sterically Enhanced Unsymmetrical Bis(arylimino)pyridine-cobalt Ethylene Polymerization Catalysts

A group of five bis(arylimino)pyridine-cobalt(Ⅱ)chloride complexes,[2-{(2,6-(Ph_(2)CH)_(2)-4-MeOC_(6)H_(2))N=CMe}-6-(ArN=CMe)C_5 H_(3)N]CoCl_(2)(Ar=2,6-Me_(2)C_(6)H_(3)Co1,2,6-Et_(2)C_(6)H_(3)Co2,2,6-iPr_(2)C_(6)H_(3)Co3,2,4,6-Me_(3)C_(6)H_(2)Co4,2,6-Et_(2)-4-MeC_(6)H_(2)Co5),each containing one N-4-methoxy-2,6-dibenzhydrylphenyl group and one smaller sterically/electronically variable N-aryl group,have been synthesized in good yield(>71%)from the corresponding neutral terdentate nitrogen-donor precursor,L1-L5.All complexes have been characterized by^(1)H-NMR and FTIR spectroscopy with the former highlighting the paramagnetic nature of these cobaltous species and the unsymmetrical nature of the chelating ligand.The molecular structures of Co3 and Co4 emphasize the steric differences of the two inequivalent N-aryl groups and the distorted square pyramidal geometry about the metal centers.In the presence of MAO or MMAO,Co1-Co5 collectively displayed high activities for ethylene polymerization producing high molecular weight polyethylenes that,in general,exhibited narrow dispersities(M_w/M_n values:2.12-4.07).Notably,the least sterically hindered Co1 when activated with MAO was the most productive(6.92×10^(6)g_(PE)·mol^(-1)_((Co))·h^(-1))at an operating temperature of60℃.Conversely,the most sterically hindered Co3/MMAO produced the highest molecular weight polyethylene(M_w=6.29×10^(5)g·mol^(-1)).All the polymers displayed high linearity as demonstrated by their melting temperatures(>130℃)and their~1 H-and^(13)C-NMR spectra.By comparison of Co1 with its para-methyl,-chloro and-nitro counterparts,the presence of the para-methoxy substituent showed the most noticeable effect of enhancing the thermal stability of the catalyst.