Alkyl halides vanadium complexes

The chemistry of Lewis acids is quite varied, and equilibria such as those shown in Eqs. (28) and (29) should often be supplemented with additional possibilities. Some Lewis acids form dimers that have very different reactivities than those of the monomeric acids. For example, the dimer of titanium chloride is much more reactive than monomeric TiCL (cf., Chapter 2). Alkyl aluminum halides also dimerize in solution, whereas boron and tin halides are monomeric. Tin tetrachloride can complex up to two chloride ligands to form SnCL2-. Therefore, SnCl5 can also act as a Lewis acid, although it is weaker than SnCl4 [148]. Transition metal halides based on tungsten, vanadium, iron, and titanium may coordinate alkenes, and therefore initiate polymerization by either a coordinative or cationic mechanism. Other Lewis acids add to alkenes this may be slow as in haloboration and iodine addition, or faster as with antimony penta-chloride. 

The ability of phosphines to act as both a metal oxidation states and as a 7r acceptor to relieve electron density from lower metal oxidation states explains, in part, the observation that diphosphines stabilize the +3, +1, and 0 oxidation states at the expense of the +2 oxidation state.870 Vanadium(II) diphosphine halides, [V(dmpe)2X2] (dmpe = dimethyl-dimethylphosphinoethane, X = Br or I), were prepared as side products in the synthesis of [XV(CO)2(dmpe)2].885 The structurally characterized diphosphino V11 tetrahydroborate complex, tra .s-[V(BH4)2(dmpe)2], (223) was synthesized via the reduction of similar vanadium(III) precursors.832 The reaction of a vanadium(II) chloride salt with dmpe afforded the tra s-[VCl2(dmpe)2] complex which can be alkylated with MeLi or MgMe2 to afford the organometallic trans-[V(Me)2(dm pcVJ compound, which in turn reacts with thiocyanate to form tnms -[V(NCS)2(dmpe)2].8 87 Acetonitrile or propionitrile readily displace the chlorides from trans- WCl2(dmpe)2] to form // tf/ ,v-[V( NCR)2(dmpc)2][BI>h4]2 (R = Me or Et) the acetonitrile derivative reacts with HCPh(S02CF3)2 in acetonitrile solvent to yield the hexaacetonitrile species [V(NCMe)6]2+.887... 

The rate of polymerization of polar monomers, for example, maleic anhydride, acrylonitrile, or methyl methacrylate, can be enhanced by coraplexing them with a metal halide (zinc or vanadium chloride) or an organoaluminum halide (ethyl aluminum sesqui-chloride). These complexed monomers participate in a one-electron transfer reaction with either an uncomplexed monomer or another electron-donor monomer, for example, olefin, diene, or styrene, and thus form alternating copolymers (11) with free-radical initiators. An alternating styrene/acrylonitrile copolymer (12) has been prepared by free-radical initiation of equimolar mixtures of the monomers in the presence of nitrile-coraplexing agents such as aluminum alkyls. 

Equation (19-20) requires a linear relationship between the polymerization rate Vp and the product [ C oi ] /mon independent of the chemical nature of the metal alkyl. Such behavior has also been observed for the 4-methyl pentene-l/VCh/aluminum trialkyl system (Figure 19-3). Thus, the active centers are actually formed by the transition metal halides. An alkylated vanadium species, but definitely not a bimetallic complex, acts as active center. 

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