Propyl substituted 4-arylimino-1,2,3-trihydroacridylnickel complexes: Their synthesis, characterization and catalytic behavior toward ethylene

•2-Propyl-2,3-dihydroacridine-4-one were prepared by ZnCl2 catalyzed reaction.•Synthesis of 3-propyl-4-arylimino-1,2-dihydroacaridylnickel complexes.•Ethylene oligomerization catalyzed by nickel complexes with cocatalyst.•The olefin products ranged from butene to hexadecene.

Propyl substituted 4-arylimino-1,2,3-trihydroacridylnickel dihalide complexes were designed and prepared by metal-induced template reaction with NiCl2·6H2O or (DME)NiBr2. They were characterized by infrared spectroscopy and elemental analysis. Single crystal X-ray crystallography of representative complex Ni3 revealed a distorted trigonal bipyramidal geometry around nickel. The catalytic activities of the title nickel complexes were negatively affected by propyl substituent on their backbone when comparing with the results by unsubstituted ones. With the activation of diethylaluminium chloride, all nickel complexes exhibited moderate activity (up to 5.10 × 105 g mol−1(Ni) h−1) for ethylene oligomerization and oligomeric products ranged from C4 to C16.

Graphical abstractA series of 3-propyl-4-arylimino-1,2-dihydroacridylnickel dihalides was synthesized and characterized. With the activation of diethylaluminium chloride, all nickel complexes could exhibit moderate activity for ethylene oligomerization with broad distribution from C4 to C16.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide