Oxide-Bridged Heterobimetallic Aluminum/Zirconium Catalysts for Ethylene Polymerization

A bimetallic aluminum/zirconium complex Cp*Zr-2(Me)OAl(DIPH) [DIPH-H-2 = 3,3-bis(2-methylallyl)-(1,1-biphenyl)-2,2-diol; Cp* = C5Me5] was prepared in good yield by the reaction of (DIPH)AlMe with Cp*Zr-2(Me)OH. In contrast to Roesky's catalyst, Cp2Zr(Me)O(Me)Al(DIPP-nacnac) {DIPP-nacnac = CH[(CMe)(2,6-iPr(2)C(6)H(3)N)](2)}, it contains no Al-Me functionality and has increased Lewis acidity at Al. Crystal structures and the NMR spectra of the aluminum complex (DIPH)AlMe and the bimetallic Al/Zr species reveal in both cases dimeric complexes. The crystal structure of [Cp*Zr-2(Me)OAl(DIPH)](2) shows a planar Al2O2 core and a terminal Cp*Zr-2(Me)O group. Ethylene polymerization in toluene was studied for the bimetallic complex with a variety of scavengers. Under comparable polymerization conditions, the methylalumoxane-activated species show high activities that are similar to those obtained with Cp*2ZrCl2 and Roesky's bimetallic complex Cp2Zr(Me)OAl(Me)(DIPP-nacnac), with a relatively narrow polydispersity index (2.47).