Cr(III) Complexes Bearing a β-Ketoimine Ligand for Olefin Polymerization: Are There Differences between Coordinative and Covalent Bonding?

β-ketoimines are extensively applied for the synthesis of organometallic complexes intended as (pre)catalysts for a variety of chemical transformations. We were interested in the synthesis of two Cr complexes bearing a simple bidentate β-ketoimine (L), with different ligand binding modes, as well as their application as a precatalyst in the polymerization of olefins. Complex 1 (L2CrCl3) was obtained by direct reaction of L with CrCl3(THF)3, while, for the synthesis of complex 2 (LCrCl2), the ligand was first deprotonated with nBuLi, giving the β-ketoiminato ligand L─Li+, and then reacted with CrCl3(THF)3. Characterization of the complexes proved that the Cr(III) ion is coordinatively bonded to L in 1, while it is covalently bonded to L in 2. The complexes were then used as precatalysts for the polymerization of ethylene and various cyclic olefins. Upon activation with methylaluminoxane, both the complexes exhibited poor activity in the polymerization of ethylene, whilst they exhibit good productivity in the polymerization of cyclic olefins, affording semicrystalline oligomers, without a significant difference between 1 and 2. To gain more insight, we investigated the reaction of the complexes with the Al-cocatalyst by IR and UV-Vis spectroscopies. The results proved that, in case of 1, the Al-activator deprotonates the ligand, bringing to the formation of an active species analogous to that of 2.