Ethylene polymerization with novel bridged tri- and tetranuclear titanocene/MAO systems

Two benzene centered tri- and tetracyclopentadienyl ligands C6H3(CH2C5H5)3-1,3,5 (1) and C6H2(CH2C5H5)4-1,2,4,5 (2) and their titanium complexes C6H3[CH2C5H4Ti(C5H5)Cl2]3-1,3,5 (3), C6H3[CH2C5H4Ti(C5H4CH3)Cl2]3-1,3,5 (4), as well as C6H2[CH2C5H4Ti(C5H5)Cl2]4-1,2,4,5 (5) were synthesized and characterized by mass and 1H NMR spectra. In the presence of methylaluminoxane (MAO), 3, 4 and 5 are efficient catalysts for ethylene polymerization in toluene. The influence of the polymerization conditions such as catalyst concentration, MAO/Ti molar ratio, polymerization time and temperature were investigated in detail. 3, 4 and 5 produce linear polyethylene (PE) with broad molecular weight distributions (MWD) and a little lower molecular weight.