Abstract
Spherical periodic mesoporous organosilica (SPMO) supported catalyst bearing covalently tethered Ni(II) α-diimine complex has been successfully prepared in one-pot protocol reducing tedious and sensitive preparation steps. The SPMO-supported catalyst showed high activities (>10
6
g-PE mol-Ni
−1
h
−1
bar
−1) in the presence of various cocatalysts such as methylaluminoxane and common alkyl aluminums like ethylaluminum sesquichloride, methylaluminum dichloride and diethylaluminum chloride. The thermal stability of the catalyst was enhanced to a great extent by heterogenization and the resulting polyethylenes showed uniform morphology replicating catalyst shape.