A set of different 1‐ and 2‐silyl‐substituted zirconocene dichloride/MAO catalyst systems was investigated with respect to their performance in ethene/1‐hexene copolymerisations. In‐depth studies of bis(2‐dimethylsilylindenyl) zirconium(IV) dichloride (1) revealed a multi‐site behaviour, illustrating sensitivity to the reaction temperature and the comonomer mole fraction. Surprisingly, an upper limit is observed for the latter, leading to complete catalyst inhibition. Analysis of the chain termination processes implies the possibility of a predominant, although in general less favourable, β‐hydride elimination route under certain polymerisation conditions.

The systematic syntheses of 1- and 2-substituted silylindenes, with a wide variety of substitution patterns on the silyl moiety, and their corresponding zirconocene dichlorides are presented. The rac- and meso-diastereomers of the 1-substituted zirconocene dichlorides can in most cases be separated. Instable zirconocenes were observed for certain substitution patterns. Two of the obtained zirconocene dichlorides, bis[2-(dimethylsilyl)indenyl]zirconium dichloride (4a) and bis[2-(trimethylsilyl)indenyl]zirconium dichloride (4b), were characterised by single crystal X-ray diffraction. On the basis of DFT results, the two compounds are geometrically similar, i.e. the additional methyl group on the silyl moiety only affects the conformational energy profile. Differences in their catalyst performance in the homopolymerisation studies with ethane are thus attributed to conformational control. For the remaining complexes, sterically less demanding silyl groups seem to be favoured with respect to the catalyst performance. All the 2-isomers have lower polymerisation activities than the unsubstituted bis[indenyl]zirconium dichloride/MAO system. Curiously, the rac-bis[1-(dimethylphenylsilyl)indenyl]zirconium dichloride/MAO system is found to be the most active catalyst in ethene homopolymerisations.