Ethylene polymerizations were conducted using β-diketimine complexes of Zr [LZrX 3 (1) and L 2 ZrX 2 (2) with L ) MeC(NAr)CHC(NAr)Me and X ) Cl, R (R ) Me, Bn)] as well as Cp(L)ZrX 2 (3) in the presence of MAO. Complexes 1 possess low polymerization activities (ca. 10 5 g PE/(mol Zr h)) and provide PEs with a trimodal, molecular weight distribution. Both 2 and 3 behave as single-site catalysts under these conditions, with the activity of the latter being considerably higher than the former (ca. 10 6 -10 7 vs 10 5 g PE/(mol Zr h)). Induction periods of 10-20 min at 70 °C were observed in polymerizations involving 3 (Ar ) Ph, X ) Cl, Me) when activated by MAO. The use of [Ph 3 C][B(C 6 F 5 ) 4 ] and 3b (Ar ) Ph, X ) Me) in the presence of small amounts of MAO (ca. 100:1 Al:Zr) led to rapid monomer uptake and an increase in catalytic activity by about a factor of 4. Lower activities were observed in the presence of Me 3 Al or i Bu 3 Al. Little or no polymerization activity was observed when excess 3b was used as a scrubbing agent (in the presence of [Ph 3 C][B(C 6 F 5 ) 4 ]), and rapid loss of activity was observed when excess 3b was added to a catalyst system already producing PE. Complex 3b reacts withwhich was characterized by X-ray crystallography. Complex 4 forms dinuclear complexes with 3b or Me 3 Al in solution at room temperature. These complexes, [Cp(L)Zr(µ-Me) 2 AlMe 2 ][B(C 6 F 5 ) 4 ] (6) or [(Cp(L)ZrMe) 2 -(µ-Me)][B(C 6 F 5 ) 4 ] (7), are fluxional in solution; at lower temperature, the solution NMR spectra are consistent with the structures shown. Complex 3b is a potent inhibitor of ethylene polymerization by 4, forming 7, which is resistant to dissociation. The presence of AlMe 3 (or MAO) appears to reversibly displace 3b from 7, allowing the reaction of 3b with [Ph 3 C]-[B(C 6 F 5 ) 4 ] to proceed to completion.

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Propylene polymerization using unsymmetrical, ansa-metallocene complexes Me(2)Y(Ind)CpMMe(2) (Y = Si, C, M = Zr, Y = C, M = Hf) and the co-initiators methyl aluminoxane (PMAO), B(C(6)F(5))(3), and [Ph(3)C][B(C(6)F(5))(4)] was studied at a variety of propylene concentrations. Modeling of the polymer microstructure reveals that the catalysts derived from Me(2)Si(Ind)CpZrMe(2) and each of these co-initiators function under conditions where chain inversion is much faster than propagation (Curtin-Hammett conditions). Surprisingly, the microstructure of the PP formed was essentially unaffected by the nature of the counterion, suggesting similar values for the fundamental parameters inherent to two-state catalysts. The tacticity of PP was sensitive to changes in [C(3)H(6)] in the case of catalysts derived from Me(2)C(Ind)CpHfMe(2) and PMAO, or [Ph(3)C][B(C(6)F(5))(4)], but the average tacticity of the polymer produced at a given [C(3)H(6)] decreased in the order [Ph(3)C][B(C(6)F(5))(4)] > PMAO. With B(C(6)F(5))(3), the polymer formed was more stereoregular, and its microstructure was invariant to changes in monomer concentration. The PP pentad distributions in this case could be modeled by assuming that all three catalyst/cocatalyst combinations function with different values for the relative rates of insertion to inversion (Delta) but otherwise feature essentially invariant, intrinsic stereoselectivity for monomer insertion (alpha, beta), while the relative reactivity/stability (g/K) of the isomeric ion-pairs present seems to be only modestly affected, if at all. Similar conclusions can also be made about the published propylene polymerization behavior of the C(s)-symmetric Me(2)C(Flu)CpZrMe(2) complex with different counterions. For every counterion investigated, the principle difference appears to be the operating regime (Delta) rather than intrinsic differences in insertion stereoselectivity (alpha). Surprisingly, the ordering of the various counterions with respect to Delta does not agree with commonly accepted ideas about their coordinating ability. In particular, catalysts when activated with B(C(6)F(5))(3) appear to function at low values of Delta as compared to those featuring B(C(6)F(5))(4) (less coordinating) and FAl[(o-C(6)F(5))C(6)F(4)](3) (more coordinating) or PMAO (more coordinating) counterions where the ordering in Delta is MeB(C(6)F(5))(3) < B(C(6)F(5))(4) < FAl[(o-C(6)F(5))C(6)F(4)](3) approximately PMAO. Possible reasons for this behavior are discussed.

A kinetic model to describe the propylene polymerization behavior of ansa-metallocene catalysts was derived. The model can predict n-ad stereosequence distributions, polymer crystallinity, and related properties as well as distinguish between extremes in kinetic behavior expected for such catalysts. In particular, where polymer microstructure is sensitive to changes in [C3H6], the model can provide reliable estimates of kinetic parameters of interest, including ratios between rates of some of the significant reaction steps involved in polymer microstructure formation. The model is applied to a description of the polymerization behavior of some simple symmetrical [Me2C(Cp)(Flu)MCl2; M = Zr, Hf] and unsymmetrical [Me2Y(Cp)(Ind)MCl2; M = Zr, Hf; Y = C, Si] ansa-metallocene catalysts, activated with methyl aluminoxane. With the former two catalysts, the Zr catalyst operates very close to the kinetic quenching limit where chain inversion (or chain back-skip) is slow compared to monomer insertion, while for the Hf analogue, these two processes have more comparable rates. In the more complicated, unsymmetrical systems, both Zr- and Hf-based systems (Y = Si) operate under conditions where inversion is much faster that propagation, whereas for the Hf catalyst (Y = C), intermediate behavior is observed, and the corresponding Zr complex (Y = C) produces poly(propylene) where propagation is faster than inversion.