Reaction of nickel polymerization catalysts with carbon monoxide

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/0022-328X(87)80045-1

The nickel compound, Ni(Ph2PCH=C(Ph)O)(PEt3)Ph, is a catalyst precursor for ethylene homopolymerization and the alternating copolymerization of ethylene with carbon monoxide.In the absence of ethylene, CO is a catalyst poison.In an effort to understand the mechanisms of these reactions, we have investigated the chemistry of the compounds with pure CO.The crystal structures of the catalyst precursor and the benzoyl product resulting from the insertion of CO into the Ni-Ph bond are presented.Several zero-valent complexes of Ni and an organic product based on the coupling of the chelating ligand and the benzoyl group have been isolated and characterized.A brief description of the polymerization mechanism is presented.