Facile preparation of a Ni-imidazole compound with high activity for ethylene dimerization

A compound consisting of Ni and imidazole (Ni-imidazole) was synthesized in large quantities by a one-step co-precipitation method. The structure and stability of this Ni-imidazole were well studied by a series of characterization methods. The Ni-imidazole compound exhibited excellent catalytic properties for the dimerization of ethylene to 1-butene. A Ni-imidazole compound was synthesized by a simple one-step co-precipitation method, which exhibited superb catalytic activity for ethylene dimerization reactions.