A selective chromium catalyst system for the trimerization of ethene and its coordination chemistry

Abstract

In this paper a novel ligarid of the type [PNPNH] is presented for the application in a now homogeneous highly selective ethene trimerization system for the formation of 1-hexene, which consists of the chromium source CrCl 3(thf)3, the ligand Ph2PN(iPr)P(Ph)N(iPr)H (1), and Et3Al as an activator in toluene. The excellent characteristics of this new system, e.g. very high selectivity to C6 with highest purity of the C6 fraction (>99% 1-hoxone), activity on a constant: level on a long timescale, use of small amounts of Et3Al as a cheap activator, and only very low production of PE, make it to a hot candidate for industrial application. Its organometallic background gives an indication of the nature of the active catalyst species. © 2010 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.