The Quantitative Influence of Coordinated Halogen Atoms on the Catalytic Performance of Bisiminoacenaphthylnickel Complexes in Ethylene Polymerization.

In experiments, nickel bromine complexes usually show a better catalytic performance in ethylene polymerization compared to their nickel chlorine analogues. Therefore, the present modeling study has been performed to investigate the effect of coordinated halogen atoms on the catalytic performances of two bisiminoacenaphthyl nickel systems, namely, Ni-Br and Ni-Cl. By using the multiple linear regression analysis (MLRA), the catalytic activity can be well predicted by the descriptors of effective net charge (Qeff ) and bite angle (β), with correlation coefficient R2 values over 0.91. Meanwhile, the molecular weights of polyethylene are predicted by the descriptors of Qeff and open cone angle (θ). The calculated contributions of each descriptor show that the electronic effect is the predominant factor in Ni-Br system, while the steric effect becomes the dominant factor in Ni-Cl system. The different determined effect is expected to the main reason for the different catalytic performance between two Ni systems.