Preparation of polyethylene with controlled bimodal molecular weight distribution using zirconium complexes

Four zirconium complexes containing fully deprotonated 2-(2H-benzo[d][1,2,3]triazol-2-yl)-4,6-di-tert-pentylphenol were used as catalysts for the polymerization of ethylene. In the presence of methylalumoxane (MAO) as a cocatalyst, the precursors were highly active for polyethylene with bimodal or multimodal molecular weight distribution.