Hafnocene-olefin complexes

Electrophilic attack on olefin ligands coordinated to electron-rich, strongly backbonding metals is illustrated by the reactions of (P group 4 olefin and alkyne complexes, as well as some electron-rich olefin complexes. Zirconocene- and and hafnocene-olefin complexes generated by reaction of zirconocene dichloride with two equivalents of alkyl lithium and isolated upon addition of a phosphine ligand react with carbonyl compounds and weak protic acids to form insertion products and alkyl complexes. Several examples of the reactions of these complexes with electrophiles are shown in Equations 12.65-12.66. Zirconocene-alkyne complexes prepared by thermolysis of vinyl alkyl complexes and titanium-alkyne complexes generated by the reduction of Ti(OPr ) also react with electrophiles, such as aldehydes and acid, to form products from insertion into the M-C bond and protonation of the M-C bond respectively. 

Using the parent zirconocene-butadiene complex as a representative example, a typical bonding situation in these types of molecules is presented in Scheme 48. For 297, equilibration between the s-trans and the s-cis isomers occurs with a barrier of 23 kcal mol 1 at 283 K. The 72-olefin complex is believed to be a high-energy intermediate on the interconversion reaction surface. Significantly, structural data indicates that the s-cis complexes are best described as Zr(iv) compounds with a er2, ir ligand.158,175 The dynamic NMR measurements have also been extended to ansa-zirconocene and hafnocene butadiene complexes.176 Moreover, photoelectron spectroscopy has been used to determine the relative energetics of the two isomers for // -metallocenes.177... 

Zrrconium(IV) and hafnium(IV) complexes have also been employed as catalysts for the epoxidation of olefins. The general trend is that with TBHP as oxidant, lower yields of the epoxides are obtained compared to titanium(IV) catalyst and therefore these catalysts will not be discussed iu detail. For example, zirconium(IV) alkoxide catalyzes the epoxidation of cyclohexene with TBHP yielding less than 10% of cyclohexene oxide but 60% of (fert-butylperoxo)cyclohexene °. The zirconium and hafnium alkoxides iu combiuatiou with dicyclohexyltartramide and TBHP have been reported by Yamaguchi and coworkers to catalyze the asymmetric epoxidation of homoallylic alcohols . The most active one was the zirconium catalyst (equation 43), giving the corresponding epoxides in yields of 4-38% and enantiomeric excesses of <5-77%. This catalyst showed the same sense of asymmetric induction as titanium. Also, polymer-attached zirconocene and hafnocene chlorides (polymer-Cp2MCl2, polymer-CpMCls M = Zr, Hf) have been developed and investigated for their catalytic activity in the epoxidation of cyclohexene with TBHP as oxidant, which turned out to be lower than that of the immobilized titanocene chlorides . ... 

The rapid 3 4 equilibrium makes the coordinatively unsaturated mono(olefin)zirconocene (-hafnocene) complex 4 an easily accessible organometallic synthon even at extremely low temperatures, a fact that certainly will make its readily available precursor 3 a good starting material for the preparation of many novel organometallic compounds in the future. 

Recent Developments in Theoretical Organometallic Chemistry, 15, 1 Redistribution Equilibria of Organometallic Compounds, 6, 171 Redistribution Reactions of Transition Metal Organometallic Complexes, 23, 9S Redistribution Reactions on Silicon Catalyzed by Transition Metal Complexes, 19, 213 Remarkable Features of (t) -Conjugated Diene) zirconocene and -hafnocene Complexes, 24, 1 Selectivity Control in Nickel-Catalyzed Olefin Oligomerization, 17, lOS Silyl, Germyl, and Stannyl Derivatives of Azenes, N H Part I. Derivatives of Diazene, N3H2, 23, 131... 

Alkene complexes of Ti, Zr and Hf have been intensively investigated with regard to the nature of bonding and the close relation to olefin oligomerization and polymerization. Alkene complexes of zirconocene and hafnocene are isolated as the trimethylphosphine adduct, Cp2M(T -alkene)(PMe3) (33) [92-94]. Cp 2Ti(CH2=CH2) (34) is a 16 electron ethylene complex with a rich reaction chemistry as summarized in Scheme 6.4 [95-99]. The reaction profile of 34 indicates that the metallacyclopropane canonical form makes an important contribution [100]. 

Metallocenes, especially zirconocenes but also titanocenes, hafnocenes, and other transition metal complexes treated with MAO are highly active for the polymerization of olefins, diolefins, and styrene. The polymerization activity, which is up to 100 times higher than for classical Ziegler catalysts, as well as the possibility to easily tailor the microstructure of the polymer chain and to obtain polymers with special properties have motivated research groups worldwide to produce thousands of patents and publications in the last 20 years. An overview can be found in selected review articles and books [55-68]. A metallocene/MAO catalyst containing 1 g zirconium produced 40 x 10 g polyethylene in 1 h at 95°C and 8 bar ethene pressure (Table 1). 

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