Reactions of bis(cyclopentadienyl)zirconium dichloride with porous silica surface

Surface reactions between bis(cyclopentadienyl)zirconium dichloride (Cp2ZrCl2) and porous SiO2 surface were studied by preparing series of samples by saturated gas–solid reactions in an atomic layer epitaxy (ALE) reactor. Partially dehydroxylated silica supports were obtained by preheating. Cp2ZrCl2 reacted mainly with the isolated OH groups. The availability of OH groups influenced the bonding mode of the zirconocene complex which was mainly singly bonded on silica preheated at 600 °C, while preheating at 350 °C resulted in multiple bonding as revealed by NMR and elemental analyses. There was no evidence for surface alkylation or chlorination.