Influence of Process Parameters on the Reaction Kinetics of the Chromium‐Catalyzed Trimerization of Ethylene

In this paper we report the results of an extensive experimental kinetic study carried out on the novel ethylene trimerization catalyst system, comprising the chromium source [CrCl 3 (thf) 3 ] (thf=tetrahydrofuran), a Ph 2 P‐N( i Pr)‐P(Ph)‐N( i Pr)H (PNPNH) ligand (Ph=phenyl, i Pr=isopropyl), and triethylaluminum (AlEt 3 ) as activator. It could be shown that the initial activity shows a first‐order dependency on the ethylene concentration. Also, a first‐order dependency was found for the catalyst concentration. The initial activity follows a typical Arrhenius behavior with an experimentally determined activation energy of 52.6 kJ mol −1 . At elevated temperatures (ca. 80 °C), a significant deactivation was observed, which can be tentatively traced back to a ligand rearrangement in the presence of AlEt 3 . After a fast initial phase, a pronounced ‘kink’ in the ethylene‐uptake curve is observed, followed by a slow, almost linear, further increase of the total ethylene consumption. The catalyst composition, in particular the ligand/chromium and the cocatalyst/chromium molar ratio, has a strong impact on the catalytic performance of the trimerization of ethylene.