Designing new olefin oligomerization catalysts by tracking unpaired electrons

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The oligomerization of ethylene to higher alpha olefins is an essential part of chemical manufacturing. This route to value-addedlonger chain hydrocarbons will only become more important as we move away from fossil fuels. Chromium-based catalysts aresome of the most established for this transformation. However these have two issues. Firstly, the catalysts lack selectivity, andindeed sometimes polymerise the olefin. Secondly, the active catalyst species are highly challenging to investigate, due to theparamagnetic chromium centre. In this project new pincer chromium catalysts for this important reaction will be developed. Tounderstand how the catalyst needs to be tuned, advanced electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopic techniques will beused giving a hitherto unprecedented understanding of the active species' structure in catalysis. This data will establishstructure/activity relationships and allow for the design of a selective, highly-active, catalyst for olefin oligomerization.