Linear polyethylene propagation starting from Pd phosphine-sulfonate complexes, Pd(CH(3))(L)(Ar(2)PC(6)H(4)SO(3)) (L = 2,6-lutidine, Ar = o-MeOC(6)H(4) (2a) and L = pyridine, Ar = Ph (2b)), was studied both experimentally and theoretically. Experimentally, highly linear polyethylene was obtained with Pd(CH(3))(L)(Ar(2)PC(6)H(4)SO(3)) complexes 2a and 2b. Formation of a long alkyl-substituted palladium complex (3) was detected as a result of ethylene oligomerization on a palladium center starting from methylpalladium complex. Additionally, well-defined ethyl and propyl complexes (6(Et) and 6(Pr)) were synthesized as stable n-alkyl palladium complexes. In spite of the existence of beta-hydrogens, the beta-hydride elimination to give 1-alkenes was very slow or negligible in all cases. On the other hand, isomerization of 1-hexene in the presence of a methylpalladium/phosphine-sulfonate complex 2a indicated that this catalyst system actually undergoes beta-hydride elimination and reinsertion to release internal alkenes. On the theoretical side, the relative energies were calculated for intermediates and transition states for chain-growth, chain-walking, and chain-transfer on the basis of the starting model complex Pd(n-C(3)H(7))(pyridine)(o-Me(2)PC(6)H(4)SO(3)) (8). First, cis/trans isomerization process via the Berry's pseudorotation was proposed for the Pd/phosphine-sulfonate system. The second oxygen atom of sulfonate group is involved in the isomerization process as the associative ligand, which is one of the most unique natures of the sulfonate group. Chain propagation was suggested to take place from the less stable alkylPd(ethylene) complex 10' with the TS of 27.4/27.7 ((E+ZPC)/G) kcal/mol. Possible beta-hydride elimination was suggested to occur under low concentration of ethylene: the highest-energy transition state to override for beta-hydride elimination was either >37.4/25.3 kcal/mol (TS(9-12)) or 29.1/27.4 kcal/mol (TS(8'-9') to reach 12'). The ethylene insertion to the iso-alkylpalladium species (14') is allowed via a TS of 28.6/29.1 kcal/mol (TS(14'-15')), slightly higher in energy than that for the normal-alkylpalladium species (TS(10'-11')). Easy chain transfer was suggested to proceed from the more stable PdH(olefin) complex 12' if beta-hydride elimination to 12' does take place. Thus, the production of linear polyethylene with high molecular weight under ethylene pressure suggests that the cis and trans PdH(alkene)(phosphine-sulfonate) complexes (12 and 12') are merely accessible in the presence of excess amount of ethylene.

Linear copolymers of ethylene and acrylonitrile were prepared using palladium complexes bearing phosphine-sulfonate bidentate ligands. Acrylonitrile units located in the linear polyethylene backbones were detected for the first time by 13C NMR spectroscopy. Catalyst systems employing isolated palladium complexes such as 3 showed much higher activity for the copolymerization than the in situ generation procedures, and molecular weight of the copolymers and acrylonitrile incorporation were dependent on the palladium complexes. Obtained linear copolymers of ethylene and acrylonitrile melt at higher temperature than branched copolymers.

Palladium-catalyzed coordination-insertion copolymerization of ethylene with acrylonitrile (AN) proceeded only by using phosphine-sulfonate (P-SO(3)) as a ligand among the neutral and anionic ligands we examined, those are phosphine-sulfonate (P-SO(3)), diphosphine (P-P), and imine-phenolate (N-O). In order to answer a question that is unique for P-SO(3), theoretical and experimental studies were carried out for the three catalyst systems. By comparing P-SO(3) and P-P, it was elucidated that (i) the π-acrylonitrile complex [(L-L')PdPr(π-AN)] is less stable than the corresponding σ-complex [(L-L')PdPr(σ-AN)] in both the phosphine-sulfonato complex (L-L' = P-SO(3)) and the diphosphine complex (L-L' = P-P) and (ii) the energetic difference between the π-complex and the σ-complex is smaller in the P-SO(3) complexes than in the P-P complexes. Thus, the energies of the transition states for both AN insertion and its subsequent ethylene insertion relative to the most stable species [(L-L')PdPr(σ-AN)] are lower for P-SO(3) than for P-P. The results nicely explain the difference between these two types of ligands. That is, ethylene insertion subsequent to AN insertion was detected for P-SO(3), while aggregate formation was reported for cationic [(L-L)Pd(CHCNCH(2)CH(3))] complex. Aggregate formation with the cationic complex can be considered as a result of the retarded ethylene insertion to [(L-L)Pd(CHCNCH(2)CH(3))]. In contrast, theoretical comparison between P-SO(3) and N-O did not show a significant energetic difference in both AN insertion and its subsequent ethylene insertion, implying that ethylene/AN copolymerization might be possible. However, our experiment using [(N-O)PdMe(lutidine)] complex revealed that β-hydride elimination terminated the ethylene oligomerization and, more importantly, that the resulting Pd-H species lead to formation of free N-OH and Pd(0) particles. The β-hydride elimination process was further studied theoretically to clarify the difference between the two anionic ligands, P-SO(3) and N-O.