Nickel Complexes with Oxazoline-Based P,N-Chelate Ligands: Synthesis, Structures, and Catalytic Ethylene Oligomerization Behavior†

The phosphinooxazoline ligands 9−12 have been prepared and used to examine and compare the catalytic properties of their corresponding Ni(II) complexes in ethylene oligomerization. The molecular structure of rac-2-[1‘-(diphenylphosphanyl)ethyl]-4,4-dimethyl-4,5-dihydrooxazole (10) has been determined by X-ray diffraction. The paramagnetic Ni(II) complexes [NiX(μ-X)(P,N)]2 (19, X = Br, P,N = 2-[(diphenylphosphanyl)methyl]-4,4-dimethyl-4,5-dihydrooxazole (9)); 20, X = Cl, P,N = 9; 21, X = Cl, P,N = 10); 22, X = Cl; P,N = 2-[(diphenylphosphanyl)methyl]-4-(R)-phenyl-4,5-dihydrooxazole (12)); 23, X = Br, P,N = 12) and [NiCl2(P,N)] (24; P,N = 2-[1‘-(diphenylphosphanyl)-1‘-methylethyl]-4,4-dimethyl-4,5-dihydrooxazole (11)) were prepared in yields of 79−90%, and 19 and 24 have been characterized by X-ray diffraction. The former is a dinuclear complex with distorted-trigonal-bipyramidal geometry around the Ni(II) centers, whereas 24 is a mononuclear, tetrahedral complex, which underlines the strong influence of a ...