A New Vanadium (III) Complex of 2,6-Bis(3,5-diphenylpyrazol-1-ylmethyl)pyridine as a Catalyst for Ethylene Polymerization

The tridentate ligand 2,6-bis(3,5-diphenylpyrazol-1-ylmethyl)pyridine, abbreviated as 2,6-[(3,5-ph(2)pz-CH(2))(2)-py], a new pyridine-pyrazole derivative, was prepared from 2,6-bis(bromomethyl)pyridine and 3,5-diphenylpyrazole. The ligand was characterized by means of elemental analyses, ATR-IR, (1)H- and (13)C-NMR spectroscopy and single crystal X-ray crystallography. Using this ligand, a new mononuclear vanadium (III) complex, {2,6-[(3,5-ph(2)pz)CH(2)](2)py}VCl(3) was prepared and characterized by elemental analysis, ATR-IR and HR-MS. The complex was investigated as a catalyst for ethylene polymerization and compared with 2,6-[(3,5-Me(2)pz)CH(2)](2)py}VCl(3) to explore the effect of the substituent on the pyrazolyl rings on ethylene polymerization. High catalytic activity was observed at ambient temperature. After treatment with AlEtCl(2), these complexes showed high activity for ethylene polymerization converting ethylene to highly linear polyethylene and affording high molecular weight polymers (up to 1.0 × 10(6) g/mol) with unimodal molecular weight distributions.