Ethylene polymerization promoted by dinuclear titanium p-tert-butylthiacalix[4]arene complexes

The dinuclear titanium p-tert-butylthiacalix[4]arene complexes 1 and 2 after activation with methylaluminoxane have been tested as homogeneous catalysts for the polymerization of ethylene. The results show that the catalytic activity of 1, although still poor, is higher than those of the related mononuclear titanium complexes bearing calix[4]arene as ligand. The molecular weight of the polyethylene produced are high (MW up to 1.4 × 106 Dalton) with broad molecular weight distribution. The polyethylenes have high melting point (133–142 °C) indicating a linear polymer microstructure which was confirmed by 13C NMR analysis.