Mechanism of Ethylene Dimerization Catalyzed by Ti(OR′)₄/AlR₃

Ti-alkoxide-based catalysts in combination with AlEt 3 are responsible for the production of a significant proportion of the world's 1-butene supply, via the dimerization of ethylene. A metallacycle mechanism is normally presumed to operate with this system. However, despite its importance, the catalyst is not mechanistically well understood. The mechanism of dimerization has been studied through a series of C 2 H 4 /C 2 D 4 co-oligomerization experiments and comparison of theoretical and experimental mass spectra. The results obtained show that the textbook metallacycle mechanism is most likely not responsible for dimerization with this catalyst. Instead, an excellent fit between the theoretical and experimental mass spectra is obtained when a conventional Cossee-type mechanism (insertion/β-hydride elimination) is modeled. The formation of both the primary product 1-butene and the secondary reaction products (ethylene/1-butene co-dimers) is best explained by this mechanism.