The structure and mechanism of the formation of sites which initiate ethylene polymerization in the atomically dispersed Phillips catalyst (Cr/ SiO 2 ) are two of the great unsolved mysteries of heterogeneous catalysis. After CO or C 2 H 4 reduction of silica-supported Cr VI ions to Cr II ions in the precatalyst, exposure to ethylene results in the formation of organoCr III sites that are capable of initiating polymerization without recourse to an external alkylating cocatalyst. In this work, a Phillips catalyst prepared, via sol−gel chemistry, as a mesoporous, optically transparent monolith was reduced with CO to the spectroscopically determined Cr II end point. Ethylene causes rapid reoxidation of these Cr II sites to Cr III , even at low temperatures. Solid-state 13 C CP-MAS NMR, IR, and Raman spectroscopies reveal that the resulting sites contain a vinyl ligand, described as (≡SiO) 2 Cr III −CHCH 2 although likely with a higher coordination number, which are capable of initiating polymerization. The formation of these vinyl sites is an incommensurate redox reaction involving one-electron oxidation of Cr II via ethylene disproportionation. The accompanying formation of organic radical intermediates and their characteristic reaction products suggest that the key step is homolysis of a Cr−ethyl bond. Plausible pathways for the initiation mechanism are suggested.