Rational Design of High-Performance Phosphine Sulfonate Nickel Catalysts for Ethylene Polymerization and Copolymerization with Polar Monomers

Use
of palladium catalysts in olefin polymerization and copolymerization
has evolved rapidly. In contrast, earth-abundant and low-cost nickel
catalysts generally suffer from drawbacks that include low thermal
stability and generation of low-molecular-weight polymers in the presence
of polar monomers. By taking advantage of several design strategies,
high-performance phosphine-sulfonate-based nickel catalysts were developed.
These nickel catalysts demonstrated high activities and thermal stabilities
to afford high-molecular-weight polyethylene. Most importantly, high-molecular-weight
copolymers could be generated through the copolymerization of ethylene
with a variety of polar monomers.