Olefin polymerization on Cr(III)/SiO2: Mechanistic insights from the differences in reactivity between ethene and propene

Silica-supported well-defined Cr(III) sites, which polymerize ethene, are barely reactive towards propene while they copolymerize propene and ethene, a reactivity pattern similar to what is observed for the Phillips catalyst. In contrast to ethene, propene is only polymerized in low amounts and by a...