The present invention provides a catalyst composition for the
ethylene oligomerization, which comprises 2-imino-1,10-
phenanthroline coordinated iron (II),
cobalt (II) or
nickel (II)
chloride as main catalyst and triethylaluminum as cocatalyst. The present invention also provides a process for oligomerization of
ethylene is provided, wherein a catalyst composition comprising 2-imino-1,10-
phenanthroline coordinated iron (II),
cobalt (II) or
nickel (II)
chloride as main catalyst and triethylaluminum as cocatalyst is used, and the
molar ratio of aluminum in the cocatalyst to central
metal in the main catalyst ranges from 30 to less than 200. According to the present invention, another process for oligomerization of
ethylene is also provided, wherein a catalyst composition comprising 2-imino-1,10-
phenanthroline coordinated iron (II),
cobalt (II) or
nickel (II)
chloride as main catalyst and triethylaluminum as cocatalyst is used, and the temperature of ethylene oligomerization ranges from −10 to 19° C. According to the present invention, the price of cocatalyst i.e. triethylaluminum, is low, just a fraction of that of
methylaluminoxane, the amount of cocatalyst is therefore significantly reduced, with the catalytic activity is still acceptable, thus the cost of ethylene oligomerization is significantly reduced. In view of both the catalytic activity and the cost, the present invention is highly applicable in industry.