Synthesis and Ethylene Polymerization Capability of Metallocene-like Imido Titanium Dialkyl Compounds and Their Reactions with AliBu3

Bolton, Paul D., Adams, Nico, Clot, Eric, Cowley, Andrew R., Wilson, Paul J., Schröder, Martin, and Mountford, Philip (2006) Synthesis and Ethylene Polymerization Capability of Metallocene-like Imido Titanium Dialkyl Compounds and Their Reactions with AliBu3. Organometallics, 25 (23). pp. 5549-5565.

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Abstract

A series of alkyl- and aryl-imido titanium dialkyl compounds Ti(NtBu)(Me3[9]aneN3)R2 (R = Me (1), CH2SiMe3 (3), CH2tBu (4), CH2Ph (5)), Ti(NR)(Me3[9]aneN3)Me2 (R = iPr (6), Ph (7), 3,5-C6H3(CF3)2 (8), 2,6-C6H3iPr2 (9), 2-C6H4CF3 (10), 2-C6H4tBu (11)), and Ti(NR)(Me3[9]aneN3)(CH2SiMe3)2 (R = iPr (12), ArF (13)) were prepared and crystallographically characterized in the case of 1, 6−9, and 11 (Me3[9]aneN3 = 1,4,7-trimethyl triazacyclononane; ArF = C6F5). These compounds, isolobal with the titanocenes Cp2TiR2, were thermally stable at elevated temperatures except for 4. Reaction of 7 with [Ph3C][BArF4] (TB) and diisopropylcarbodiimide in CH2Cl2 gave the Ti−Me insertion product [Ti(NPh)(Me3[9]aneN3){MeC(NiPr)2}][BArF4] (15-BArF4). The corresponding reaction of 7 in the absence of organic substrate gave [Ti2(μ-NPh)2(Me3[9]aneN3)2Cl2][BArF4]2 via a solvent activation reaction. The room-temperature ethylene polymerization capabilities of the dialkyl compounds were evaluated using TB cocatalyst in the presence of AliBu3 (TIBA). Among the dimethyl precatalysts, only the systems 1 and 11, with the bulkiest imido groups, showed high productivities (6230 and 1210 kg mol-1 h-1 bar-1, respectively). The productivites of the other tert-butyl imido precatalysts 3 and 4 (130 and 120 kg mol-1 h-1 bar-1, respectively) were substantially lower than that of 1. The catalyst system 1/TIBA (2500 equiv, no added TB) was also active for ethylene polymerization (225 kg mol-1 h-1 bar-1). The less productive imido dialkyl precatalysts all formed complex mixtures on exposure to TIBA. The polyethylenes produced with 1, 3, and 5−11 generally had Mw/Mn values in the range 2.6−3.0. The PE formed with 1/TB/TIBA was terminated only by methyl end groups, consistent with chain transfer to TIBA followed by subsequent β-H transfer by the resultant titanium isobutyl cation. The alkyl cations [Ti(NtBu)(Me3[9]aneN3)R]+ (R = Me or CH2SiMe3) reacted rapidly with TIBA in C6D5Br at −30 °C, forming isobutene. DFT calculations found that TIBA adducts of the model methyl cation [Ti(NMe)(H3[9]aneN3)Me]+ were energetically favorable by ca. −80 to −110 kJ mol-1. Whereas 1 alone or with AlMe3 present has been shown to form only Ph3CMe on reaction with [Ph3C]+, 1:1 mixtures of 1 and TIBA gave Ph3CH as the only trityl-containing product, suggesting a key role for transient [AliBu2]+ in the activation process for these catalysts. Overall, the imido group in the Ti(NR)(Me3[9]aneN3)Me2/TB/TIBA catalysts systems appears to have two roles:  to stabilize the dialkyl precatalyst toward degradation by the TIBA itself prior to activation, and to inhibit the formation of catalytically inactive hetero- or homo-bimetallic complexes.

Item ID: 74849
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1520-6041
Copyright Information: © 2006 American Chemical Society.
Date Deposited: 15 Nov 2023 06:34
FoR Codes: 34 CHEMICAL SCIENCES > 3402 Inorganic chemistry > 340209 Organometallic chemistry @ 100%
SEO Codes: 28 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 2801 Expanding knowledge > 280105 Expanding knowledge in the chemical sciences @ 100%
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