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Novel Cr(iii) catalysts supported by PNPO phosphazane ligands of the type Ph2PN(R)P(Ph)OAr have been prepared, all of which, upon activation with MMAO-3A, are highly active in ethylene tri-/tetramerization with considerable selectivity. The effect of ligand substitution on the catalytic performance has been examined. The Cr precatalyst supported by the PNPO phosphazane ligand with an N-cyclohexyl achieved high activity of 316.7 kg (g Cr h−1)−1 and a high total selectivity of 85.1% towards valuable 1-hexene (45.7%) and 1-octene (39.4%) using chlorobenzene as the solvent at 35 bar and 40 °C. In methylcyclohexane, the precatalyst supported by [Ph2PN(iPr)P(Ph)OPh] exhibited a higher 1-octene selectivity (54.0%) with a considerable activity of 73.3 kg (g Cr h−1)−1 at 35 bar and 40 °C. With the fine-tuned ligand backbone, such a PNPO phosphazane-based catalyst system provides a mode for precise understanding of the impact of ligand variations on catalytic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]