A MOF-supported chromium catalyst for ethylene polymerization through post-synthetic modification

•A MOF-supported Cr(III) catalyst was prepared by postsynthetic modification.•The Cr(III) catalyst was active for ethylene polymerization.•Ethylene polymerization was largely influenced by diffusion.

Isoreticular metal-organic framework-3 (IRMOF-3) has been post-synthetically modified to generate a Cr(III)-based heterogeneous catalyst (IRMOF-3-SI-Cr) for ethylene polymerization, which has been characterized by a variety of physical methods. The XRD analysis indicated that the structure integrity of the final solid was preserved after the functionalization with the imine and the subsequent coordination to chromium. The BET surface area of the final solid was slightly reduced as determined by N2 adsorption–desorption experiments. The material exhibited a unique behavior for ethylene polymerization upon activation with various alkylaluminium co-catalysts, and the polyethylenes formed featured high molecular weights and broad molecular weight distributions.

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