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The effect of the metal on elementary chain propagation and termination reactions in hafnocene- and zirconocene-catalyzed olefin copolymerization processes has been systematically studied by quantum chemical methods. Two consecutive monomer insertions, parallel with the competing chain termination reactions, were studied for copolymerization of ethene with propene, 1-butene, and 1-hexene. For the purpose of a comparative study, analogous species along the reaction pathway were studied for each metallocene/monomer combination. Effects due to incorporation of a comonomer were analyzed as a function of both the central metal and the comonomer size. In accordance with the general experimental observations of zirconocenes producing lower molecular weight polymer than the hafnocenes, differences in activation energies for chain propagation and termination are smaller for the zirconocene. For the zirconocene, the activation energy is particularly low for β-hydrogen elimination after secondary comonomer insertion.

A comparative quantum chemical study has been performed to shed light on the fundamental differences between hafnocenes and zirconocenes concerning reactions between the metals and α-olefin monomers, namely, ethene, propene, 1-butene, and 1-hexene. Analogous species along the α-olefin polymerization pathways were studied for bis(cyclopentadienyl) zirconocene and hafnocene, taking into account the structural variations of the first two monomer insertion steps and of the competitive chain-termination reactions. The results were analyzed as a function of both the metal and the monomer, the metal showing more distinct differences. The most notable difference in the reactions of the zirconocene and hafnocene can be seen in β-hydrogen transfer to metal, activation energies for which are significantly higher for the hafnocene.

The influence of the ligand structures of hafnocene polymerization catalysts on ethene insertion and chain propagation was systematically studied by quantum chemical methods. Altogether 54 hafnocenes were studied as a function of the ligand structures. Two consecutive ethene insertions and chain propagations were performed for the catalysts, giving rise to 15 intermediate structures along the reaction pathway. The behavior of the catalysts was analyzed as a function of ancillary ligands, ligand substituents, and bridging units. The differences along the reaction pathway are dominated by the changes in relative stabilities of the catalytic intermediate products. Large aromatic ancillary ligands and electron-donating ligand substituents strongly stabilize the catalyst cations. Steric effects introduced by the ligand framework mostly affect the feasibility of ethene π-coordination and the activation energy for chain propagation. The dominant effect of the relative stabilities of the catalyst intermediates sh...