Palladium-Catalyzed Ethylene/Methyl Acrylate Copolymerization: Moving from the Acenaphthene to the Phenanthrene Skeleton of α-Diimine Ligands

The development of efficient homogeneous catalysts for the synthesis of functionalized polyolefins is a challenging topic. Palladium(II) complexes with -diimine ligands having a phenanthrene skeleton and 2,6-disubstituted aryl rings (Ar-BIP) were synthesized, characterized and tested as precatalysts in the copolymerization of ethylene with methyl acrylate. The direct comparison with analogous complexes having the corresponding -diimines with an acenaphthene skeleton (Ar-BIAN) was performed. X-ray characterization in solid state and NMR analysis in solution of both neutral, [Pd(Ar-BIP)(CH3)Cl], and monocationic [Pd(Ar-BIP)(CH3)(NCCH3)][PF6] complexes, indicate that the Ar-BIP ligands have a higher Lewis basicity and are more strongly coordinated to the metal center than the Ar-BIAN counterparts. Therefore, the Pd-(Ar-BIP) cationic complexes can be regarded as electron-rich metal cations. In addition, they create a higher steric congestion around palladium than Ar-BIAN, regardless of the substituents on the aryl rings. The monocationic species generate active catalysts for the ethylene/methyl acrylate copolymerization leading to copolymers with Mn values up to 37000 and a content of polar monomer of 5.3 mol %. The detailed study of the catalytic behavior points out that Pd-(Ar-BIP) catalysts show a good affinity for the polar monomer, a good thermal stability and favor the cleavage of the catalyst resting state, leading to copolymer with Mw values higher than that of the macromolecules produced with the corresponding Pd-(Ar-BIAN) under the same reaction conditions. NMR characterization of the produced copolymers points out that the polar monomer is inserted both at the end of the branches and into the main chain, with a more selective enchainment than that achieved when the copolymerization is carried out in dichloromethane. In situ NMR investigations allowed us to detect relevant intermediates of the catalytic cycle and shed light on the nature of possible deactivation species.