2-(1-(Arylimino)ethyl)-8-arylimino-5,6,7-trihydroquinoline Iron(II) Chloride Complexes: Synthesis, Characterization, and Ethylene Polymerization Behavior

The series of 2-(1-(arylimino)ethyl)-8-arylimino-5,6,7-trihydroquinolines was synthesized and fully characterized, for which data indicated two isomer forms of each due to the migration of a double bond. The corresponding iron dichloride complexes were prepared and were found to adopt distorted bipyramidal coordination geometry at iron by single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies. Upon treatment with either MAO or MMAO, all iron complex precatalysts exhibited high activities (up to 2.4 × 107 gPE·mol–1(Fe)·h–1) toward ethylene polymerization. The influence of the nature of the ligands and reaction parameters upon the catalytic activities and properties of the polyethylene obtained has been studied.