[Pd(acac)(MeCN)2]BF4: air-tolerant, activator-free catalyst for alkene dimerization and polymerizationElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Experimental details, NMR spectra, characterization of polymers, cartesian coordinates for all the calculated species. CCDC 1414861. For ESI and crystallographic data in CIF or other electronic format see DOI: 10.1039/c5ra24591e

[Pd(acac)(MeCN) 2 ]BF 4 has been observed to catalyze selective substituted styrene dimerization and addition norbornene polymerization. Theoretical calculations based on BP86 density functional theory have been carried out to clarify the precatalyst activation mechanism. [Pd(acac)(MeCN) 2 ]BF 4 has been observed to catalyze selective substituted styrene dimerization and addition norbornene polymerization.