Enhancing the Activity and Thermal Stability of Nickel Complex Precatalysts Using 1‑[2,6-Bis(bis(4-fluorophenyl)methyl)-4-methyl phenylimino]-2-aryliminoacenaphthylene Derivatives

The series of acenaphthylene-1-[2,6-bis(bis(4-fluorophenyl)methyl)-4-methylphenylimino]-2-arylimine derivatives and their dichloronickel complexes were synthesized and fully characterized as well as the single-crystal X-ray diffraction of representative nickel complexes, revealing a distorted tetrahedral geometry. Upon activation with either MAO or Et2AlCl, all nickel complexes showed high activities in ethylene polymerization; moreover, their catalytic systems showed better thermal stabilities on being manipulated at 80 °C as the industrial operating temperature.