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A new ligand with N8O2 donors containing three potential metal-binding sites (H2L) and its tricopper(II) complex 1 are synthesized. The tricopper species is found to be formed from a hypodentate dicopper(II) complex 2 in basic solutions. Complex 2 may be isolated from the reaction of H2L with a copper source under acidic conditions. Complex 2 can undergo CO2-abstraction to yield an octacopper(II) complex 3. The single crystal structures of complexes 2 and 3 are characterized by X-ray crystallography.

A series of α-aminopyridines in the form of (2,6-C(6)H(3)N)(R(1))(CHR(2)NR(3)R(4)) (R(1) = R(2) = H R(3) = H R(4) = (i)Pr (L1a), R(4) = (t)Bu (L1b), R(4) = Ph (L1c), R(4) = 2,6-Me(2)C(6)H(3) (L1d), R(4) = 2,6-(i)Pr(2)C(6)H(3) (L1e), R(1) = R(2) = H R(3) = R(4) = Et (L1f), R(1) = H R(2) = Me R(3) = H R(4) = (i)Pr (L2a), R(4) = Ph (L2c), R(4) = 2,6-Me(2)C(6)H(3) (L2d), R(4) = 2,6-(i)Pr(2)C(6)H(3) (L2e), R(1) = Me R(2) = H R(3) = H R(4) = 2,6-(i)Pr(2)C(6)H(3) (L3e)) and β-aminopyridines in the form of (2-C(6)H(4)N)(CH(2)CH(2)NR(1)R(2)) (R(1) = H R(2) = (i)Pr (4a), R(2) = (t)Bu (L4b), R(1) = R(2) = Et (L4f)) have been prepared. Their corresponding halonickel complexes 1a-4f are synthesized by ligand substitution from (DME)NiBr(2) and the molecular structures are characterized. Four types of coordination modes include four-coordinate mononuclear species with one ligand, five-coordinate mononuclear species with two ligands, five-coordinate dinuclear species with two ligands, and a six-coordinate polymeric framework were determined by X-ray crystallography. Using methylaluminoxanes (MAO) as the activator, the nickel complexes can catalyze ethylene polymerization under moderate pressure and ambient temperature. The activity reaches 10(5) g PE mol(-1) Ni h. The PE products with high branching and high crystallinity have M(n) ~ 10(3) with PDI2.

Ethylene polymerization catalyzed by Ni(ii) complexes that bear new bidentate ligands with a functional hybrid of amine and imine has been studied. A class of new alpha-aminoaldimines and their nickel complexes [R(1)R(2)NCMe(2)CH[double bond, length as m-dash]N(2,6-R(3)(2)C(6)H(3))]NiBr(2) (R(1) = R(2) = Me, R(3) = Me (Ni-); R(3) = (i)Pr (Ni-); R(1) = R(2) = Et, R(3) = H (Ni-); Me (Ni-); (i)Pr (Ni-); R(1) = R(2) = (n)Pr, R(3) = (i)Pr (Ni-); (R(1)R(2)) = c-C(3)H(6) R(3) = (i)Pr (Ni-); (R(1)R(2)) = c-C(4)H(8), R(3) = (i)Pr (Ni-)) were synthesized. The molecular structures of six nickel complexes were determined by X-ray crystallography, showing distorted tetrahedral configurations. The SQUID data of Ni- confirms its ground state of triplet spin. Using methylaluminoxanes (MAO) as the activator, the nickel complexes are found to catalyze ethylene polymerization under moderate pressure and ambient temperature. The activity reaches to 10(6) g PE mol Ni(-1) h(-1), and increases with the ethylene pressure in the range of 14-28 bar. The highly branching PE products have M(n) approximately 10(5) with PDI2. The amine and imine functionalities demonstrate independent control to the polymerization reactions, wherein the activity appears to be facilitated by using the catalysts installed with bulky imino substituents as well as with less sterically hindered amino substituents. This is ascribed to the C(2) unsymmetric coordination in the square planar resting state in which the bulky polymer chain prefers cis to the imine and the small ethylene monomer is cis to the amine.