Self-Immobilizing Precatalysts: Norbornene-Bridged Zirconium ansa-Metallocenes

We report here the synthesis of new tethered biscyclopentadienyl and bisindenyl zirconocenes, bearing one unsaturation on the interannular bridge, and their use as self-immobilizing catalysts. They proved to be active catalysts towards ethylene polymerization in solution, with activities comparable to those displayed by commercial rac-Et-(Ind)2ZrCl2. When tested as self-polymerization catalysts under suitable experimental conditions, they gave colored precipitates that, once reactivated with MAO, were significantly active in ethylene polymerization, although lower than those of the corresponding catalytic systems in solution. The molecular weights of the produced polymers were similar tothose obtained with the same catalysts in solution, but their distribution resulted to be broader, with values typical of heterogeneous catalytic systems. From 13C NMRstud ies we had the first spectroscopic evidence of the actual incorporation of a metallocene of this type into a polymeric chain.