Qiang Yue

Polyolefin elastomers (POEs) produced by ethylene/α-olefin copolymerization are indispensable for high-end applications such as photovoltaic encapsulation, precision microelectronic protection, advanced foamed footwear, and automotive lightweight components. α-Diimine nickel catalysts that operate through a chain-walking mechanism convert ethylene as the sole feedstock into highly branched polyethylene elastomers, eliminating the need for expensive comonomers. This review systematically analyzes α-diimine nickel complexes developed in recent years via modulation of ligand steric hindrance, electronic effects, and backbone rigidity, and provides a quantitative comparison of their catalytic performance. The compiled data reveal that the catalytic activities span 10⁴–10⁷ g PE (mol Ni)⁻¹ h⁻¹, the molecular weights range from 10⁴ to 10⁶ g mol⁻¹, and the polydispersity indices (PDIs) can be tuned between 1.2 and 29.3, affording polyethylenes with branching densities from 2 to over 186 branches per 1000 carbons. These structural parameters directly govern the mechanical flexibility, elastic recovery, thermal properties, and processability in injection molding, foam extrusion, and film blowing, thus dictating the materials’ suitability for the aforementioned high-value applications. By establishing clear structure–performance relationships, this review offers forward-looking guidance for the industrial scale-up and catalyst design of polyethylene elastomers produced exclusively from ethylene.

Binuclear α-diimine nickel catalysts have attracted significant interest in ethylene polymerization due to their distinctive metal–metal cooperativity, which enables catalytic properties not achievable with mononuclear systems. This review summarizes the structural design principles and recent advances of these binuclear catalysts, with an emphasis on how different bridging architectures such as rigid aryl, flexible chain, N-heterocyclic, and specialty bridges regulate intermetallic distance, steric environment, and electronic effects. The impact of these structural factors on catalytic activity, polymer molecular weight, branching density, and mechanical properties is discussed. By establishing structure–performance relationships, this review provides a foundation for the rational design of binuclear nickel catalysts for advanced polyethylene synthesis.

This work provides a comprehensive exploration of α-olefin polymerization characteristics catalyzed by the classic α-diimine Ni catalyst. The polymerization process exhibited quasi-living behaviour, and a reaction kinetic model for the monomer coordination–insertion process was established. It was observed that the reaction exhibits living polymerization features during the first 10 min, and the coordination–insertion rate constant was determined to be 1.08 L·mol⁻¹·s⁻¹ at 30 °C. The regulation rules for factors including co-catalyst amount, monomer concentration, polymerization temperature, monomer type on the molecular weight, molecular weight distribution and chain structure of poly(α-olefin)s were clarified. The co-catalyst (methylaluminoxane) primarily served to activate the catalyst without inducing a chain transfer effect, suggesting that chain stagnation is likely the primary cause of the deviation from typical living polymerization behaviour. Based on temperature-controlled experiments, the activation energy for the coordination–insertion reaction was calculated to be 28.40 kJ·mol⁻¹ through GPC curve analysis. The kinetic model established in this study, along with the revealed chain branching rules, provides a theoretical foundation for the design of poly(α-olefin)s with novel structures and functions.

Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylenes (UHMWPEs) are significant engineering plastics for their unique properties, such as high impact resistance, abrasion resistance, weatherability, lubricity, and chemical resistance. Consequently, developing a suitable catalyst is vital in facilitating the preparation of UHMWPE. The late transition metal catalysts have emerged as effective catalysts in producing UHMWPE due to their availability, enhanced tolerance to heteroatom groups, active polymerization characteristics, and good copolymerization ability with polar monomers. In this review, we mainly focus on the late transition metal catalysts, summarizing advancements in their application over the past decade. Four key metals (Ni, Pd, Fe, Co) for generating linear or branched UHMWPE will be primarily explored in this manuscript.

The direct copolymerization of ethylene with polar monomers to produce functional polyolefins continues to be highly appealing due to its simple operation process and controllable product microstructure. Low-cost nickel catalysts have been extensively utilized in academia for the synthesis of polar polyethylenes. However, the development of high-temperature copolymerization catalysts suitable for industrial production conditions remains a significant challenge. Classified by the resultant copolymers, this review provides a comprehensive summary of the research progress in nickel complex catalyzed ethylene-polar monomer copolymerization at elevated temperatures in the past five years. The polymerization results of ethylene–methyl acrylate copolymers, ethylene-tert–butyl acrylate copolymers, ethylene–other fundamental polar monomer copolymers, and ethylene–special polar monomer copolymers are thoroughly summarized. The involved nickel catalysts include the phosphine-phenolate type, bisphosphine-monoxide type, phosphine-carbonyl type, phosphine-benzenamine type, and the phosphine-enolate type. The effective modulation of catalytic activity, molecular weight, molecular weight distribution, melting point, and polar monomer incorporation ratio by these catalysts is concluded and discussed. It reveals that the optimization of the catalyst system is mainly achieved through the methods of catalyst structure rational design, extra additive introduction, and single-site catalyst heterogenization. As a result, some outstanding catalysts are capable of producing polar polyethylenes that closely resemble commercial products. To achieve industrialization, it is essential to further emphasize the fundamental science of high-temperature copolymerization systems and the application performance of resultant polar polyethylenes.

The pursuit of high-performance polyolefin materials has been an objective for chemists. Recently, the development of multinuclear catalysts has significantly enabled the preparation of high-performance polyolefin materials. In this review, we mainly focus on the cooperative effects of multinuclear early transition metal catalysts and provide a comprehensive summary of the research progress in binuclear and multinuclear early transition metal catalysts over the past decade. Compared with the catalytic performance and polymer structure of these catalysts with mononuclear catalysts, we have found that various factors, such as steric hindrance effect, electronic effect, heteroatom effect, hydrogen bonding interaction, the distance between metal centers in multinuclear metal catalysts, and the use of additives, have distinctive and significant impacts on catalyst performance. These effects give rise to notable cooperative effects. This review offers crucial insights and serves as a valuable reference for shaping the future development directions of binuclear and multinuclear early transition metal catalysts.