Porous clay nanoarchitectures as supports for heterogenized nickel complexes in catalytic reactions of ethylene oligomerization

Linear alpha-olefins (LAOs) are high-value intermediates for fine chemicals and petrochemicals. The main process for obtaining these products is from olefin oligomerization. The use of heterogenized catalytic systems based on anchoring of organometallic precursors on inorganic materials has the advantages of increasing the selectivity of the reaction and the possibility of reusing the catalyst. In this work, porous clay nanostructures with bi (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) structures were synthesized to act as catalytic supports. A Ni-β-diimine organometallic complex was anchored to these materials giving rise to heterogenized nickel complexes that were tested as catalytic precursors for the ethylene oligomerization reaction, and they were compared with the analogous complex in homogeneous medium. The results showed the influence of the heterogenization of the materials on the thermal stability of the catalyst and the selectivity of the products. Also, the results demonstrated a noticeable influence of the different structures of the materials on catalytic activity. The best result was obtained with the catalyst anchored on the support with a 3D structure, presenting a T.O.F. (turnover frequency) of 754 × 10 ³ h−1. Finally, this material was subjected to recycling tests that qualitatively showed that the catalyst can be reused while maintaining a high selectivity of 95% for alpha-olefins.