Structurally simple dinuclear nickel catalyzed olefin copolymerization with polar monomers

•High-performance nickel catalysts bearing an anilinoanthraquinone ligand, which can be obtained with straightforward synthetic route, were developed for the ethylene copolymerization and norbornene copolymerization with polar monomers.•The dinuclear nickel catalysts exhibit higher activity and polar monomer incorporation than corresponding mononuclear analogue.