Synthesis and characterization of a silyl substituted bis(Indenyl) zirconium dichloride and comparison of its olefin polymerization behavior to a siloxy substituted analogue

The synthesis and characterization of rac-[ethylenebis(1-(tert-butyldimethy lsilyl)-3-indenyl)] zirconium dichloride (3) is reported. The silyl substit uted 3/MAO was compared to its siloxy substituted analogue (4) in ethylene homo- and in ethylene-1-hexene copolymerizations to elucidate the effect of the heteroatom on polymerization performance. The influence of monomer and cocatalyst concentration and the polymerization temperature was investigat ed. The oxygen between the indenyl ligand and the bulky tert-butyldimethyls ilyl group in the siloxy substituted 4/MAO was found to have a positive inf luence on polymerization activity and copolymerization performance. (C) 200 0 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.