Oligomerization of Olefins Catalyzed by New Cationic Palladium(II) Complexes Containing an Unsymmetrical α-Diimine Ligand

The palladium complexes [(Py-2-CMe NAr)PdMe(MeCN)] + BAr‘ 4 - ( 2 + BAr‘ 4 - ) and [Pd(Py-2-CMe NAr) 2 ] 2+ (BAr‘ 4 - ) 2 [Ar = 2,6-(i-Pr) 2 −C 6 H 3, Ar‘ = 3,5-(CF 3 ) 2 −C 6 H 3 )] have been synthesized from (Py-2-CMe NAr)PdMeCl, and their crystal and molecular structure has been determined by X-ray analysis. 2 + BAr‘ 4 - is an efficient catalyst for the oligomerization of ethylene, propylene, and 1-hexene, as well as for the cooligomerization of ethylene with alkyl acrylates.