Gas-Phase Dimerization of Ethylene under Mild Conditions Catalyzed by MOF Materials Containing (bpy)NiII Complexes

NU-1000-(bpy)­Ni II , a highly porous MOF material possessing well-defined (bpy)­NiII moieties, was prepared through solvent-assisted ligand incorporation (SALI). Treatment with Et2AlCl affords a single-site catalyst with excellent catalytic activity for ethylene dimerization (intrinsic activity for butenes that is up to an order of magnitude higher than the corresponding (bpy)­NiCl2 homogeneous analogue) and stability (can be reused at least three times). The high porosity of this catalyst results in outstanding levels of activity at ambient temperature in gas-phase ethylene dimerization reactions, both under batch and continuous flow conditions.