The Effect of Hydrosilanes on the Active Sites of the Phillips Catalyst: The Secret for In Situ α-Olefin Generation

Heterogeneous Phillips catalyst modified with hydrosilanes reveals the concomitant presence of two distinct chromium catalytic sites. One site exhibits homogeneous behaviour and is able to oligomerize ethylene, and the other behaves as a classical heterogeneous catalyst that co-polymerizes ethylene and the olefins produced from the former.