Lanthanides alkoxides

Certain lanthanide alkoxides, such as r-BuOSmL, have also been found to catalyze hydride exchange between alcohols and ketones.194 Isopropanol can serve as the reducing agent for aldehydes and ketones that are thermodynamically better hydride acceptors than acetone. 

Some catalyst systems based on lanthanides are shown in Fig. 10. The ones based on lanthanide alkoxides are based on our work, whereas the others are taken from the above mentioned work... 

Non-cyclopentadienyl single-site lanthanide alkoxides mostly feature N-donor-based ancillary ligands. Examples include bulky bis(arylamidinate)-yttrium(III) alkoxides, phenoxides and amides such as complexes (307)-(309), which initiate the ROP of LA.892 However, control over molecular weight is poor and polydispersities are broad (typically >1.5), with the exception of (309) in the presence of exogenous benzyl alcohol. 

Bis(ethylacetoacetonate)-lanthanide(III) alkoxides, represented by structure (314), also initiate the well-controlled ROP of CL.895 Mn increases linearly with conversion (with Mw/Mn<1.10 throughout), and increasing [M]0/[I]o- Kinetic analysis implies a first order dependence on the lanthanide initiator, consistent with a non-aggregated active site. Block copolymers with moderately narrow polydispersities (1.25-1.45) have also been prepared using these initiators. NMR spectroscopy confirms well-controlled block sequences suggesting that these initiators are less susceptible to transesteriflcation than other lanthanide alkoxides. Initiation occurs exclusively at the alkoxide bond, and the tris(ethylacetoacetonate) analogs are inactive under the same conditions. 

Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley-Oppenauer catalysts typically are aluminum alkox-ides or lanthanide alkoxides (see above). The application of catalysts based on metals such as ytterbium (see Table 20.7, entries 6 and 20) and zirconium [85, 86] has been reported. 

McLain SJ, Drysdale NE (1992) Living ring-opening polymerization of e-caprolactone by yttrium and lanthanide alkoxides. Polymer Preprints, American Chemical Society 33(1) 174-175... 

Fig. 14 Series of well-defined lanthanide alkoxide initiators...

Anwander R (1996) Routes to Monomeric Lanthanide Alkoxides. 179 149-246 Anwander R, Herrmann WA (1996) Features of Organolanthanide Complexes. 179 1-32 Artymiuk PJ, Poirette AR, Rice DW, Willett P (1995) The Use of Graph Theoretical Methods for the Comparison of the Structures of Biological Macromolecules. 174 73-104 Astruc D (1991) The Use of p-Organoiron Sandwiches in Aromatic Chemistry. 160 47-96 Baerends EJ, see van Leeuwen R (1996) 180 107-168 Balbds LC, see Alonso JA (1996) 182 119-171... 

Metal alkoxides constitute a useful class of starting materials for the synthesis of the metal / -diketonates. The ethoxides of Nbv, Tav and Uv react with diketones. Here, only partial substitution of the ethoxy groups occurs and materials of the type M(diketonate)3(OEt)2 are formed.194,195 Similar reactions with lanthanide alkoxides, however, provide pure, unsolvated lanthanide tris(diketonates). The virtue of such syntheses lies in their ability to yield anhydrous diketonate complexes. Removal of water from the hydrates without decomposition is sometimes difficult.196,197... 

ROP of lactones and lactides using lanthanide alkoxide-based initiators is a relatively recent discovery. The first example of lactone polymerization by lanthanide alkoxide complexes was reported in a DuPont patent written by McLain and Drysdale in 1991 [89]. In general, the activity of these catalysts is much higher than that determined for aluminum alkoxides, especially in lactide polymerization [90-92]. Polymers of relatively high molecular weight and narrow MWD are formed. The negative side-reactions such as macrocycle formation, transesterification, and racemization are absent. 

Yttrium isopropoxide and yttrium 3-oxapentoxide initiators were the first lanthanide alkoxides described in the literature for the ROP of e-CL [93]. The discovery of lanthanide-based initiator systems allowed the block copolymerization of e-CL with compounds such as ethylene [94], tetrahydrofuran [95], L-LA [96], trimethylene carbonate [97], and methyl methacrylate [98]. This type of initiator has also been used to prepare poly((3-butyrolactone)s [99,100]. 

On the other hand, the specific electron configuration of the nitrogen allows a chemistry comparable to that of the ubiquitous cyclopentadienyl ligand and this offers an opportunity to get within distance of the all-powerful lanthanide alkoxide chemistry. The introduction of unsaturated monoanionic ligands like substituted pyrrols is currently in progress. In the last ten years there has also been a steadily growing interest in polycyclic amides, e.g., porphyrins and phthalocyanines. 

Routes to monomeric , mononuclear , monolanthanide alkoxides, enolates, siloxides and aryloxides - an expanded title which will put the scope of the article in a more concrete form. The synthesis of mononuclear alkoxides, in particularly homoleptic derivatives [1], was decisively stimulated by the discovery of high temperature superconducting ceramics based on YBa2Cu307<, where yttrium represents the lanthanide elements [2]. The support of volatile and highly soluble molecular precursors is a prerequisite for synthesizing thin films of these materials by means of MOCVD [3] and sol gel processes [4], respectively. More recently, lanthanide alkoxide reagents became established in... 

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