Lanthanides rare earth metal catalysts

Beyond this exclusive lanthanide Ziegler-Natta model, Ziegler-type multicomponent systems ( Mischkatalysatoren ) represent the only class of homogeneous rare-earth metal catalysts of considerable commercial relevance [40-43]. High-czs-1,4-polydienes are industrially produced from 1,3-dienes (butadiene and isoprene) in aliphatic or aromatic hydrocarbons by a number of Mischkatalysatoren based on the transition metals titanium, cobalt, and nickel, and the lanthanide element neodymium [40-47]. The... 

Recently Hou reported the first example of efficient COG synthesis by rare earth metal catalysts. Cationic rare earth (group 3 and lanthanide) metal alkyls is an emerging new class of catalysts for the polymerization and copolymerization of various olefins including cyclic olefins. The combination of half-sandwich scandium bis (alkyl) complexes such as... 

Rare earth metals and scandium trifluoromethanesulfonates (lanthanide and scandium triflates) are strong Lewis acids that are quite effective as catalysts in... 

Related to these catalysts are the systems based on lanthanide metal systems or rare earth metal complexes [46, 47]. The main problem with these catalyst systems is their instability. When the catalyst solution is prepared by reachng a metallocene with an organolithium compound in a polar solvent, the prepared catalyst soluhon is unstable and decomposes quickly, even under a nitrogen atmosphere. The activity of these catalysts can be high only if the catalyst is added to the polymer soluhon immediately after preparation. Attempts have been made to overcome the stability problem by using an additive in the system to improve the stability and the activity of the catalyst [33-35, 41, 57, 58, 61]. Re-... 

Recently, rare-earth metal complexes have attracted considerable attention as initiators for the preparation of PLA via ROP of lactides, and promising results were reported in most cases [94—100]. Group 3 members (e.g. scandium, yttrium) and lanthanides such as lutetium, ytterbium, and samarium have been frequently used to develop catalysts for the ROP of lactide. The principal objectives of applying rare-earth complexes as initiators for the preparation of PLAs were to investigate (1) how the spectator ligands would affect the polymerization dynamics (i.e., reaction kinetics, polymer composition, etc.), and (2) the relative catalytic efficiency of lanthanide(II) and (III) towards ROPs. 

Active catalyst species or catalysis intermediates can often be trapped by stoichiometric reactions of the precatalyst with the substrate. The following example describes the successful isolation of such an intermediate with participation of Ln-O cr-bonds. Reduction processes mediated by low oxidation states of the lanthanide elements are of special interest in organic synthesis [256]. One of the most intensively studied reactions is the stoichiometric reduction of arylketones by rare earth metals ytterbium and samarium [277]. Thus formed dianions possess high nucleophilic character and excess lanthanide metal can even accomplish complete cleavage of the C-O double bond (Scheme 36). 

The rare-earth metals are of rapidly growing importance, and their availability at quite inexpensive prices facilitates their use in chemistry and other applications. Much recent progress has been achieved in the coordination chemistry of rare-earth metals, in the use of lanthanide-based reagents or catalysts, and in the preparation and study of new materials. Some of the important properties of rare-earth metals are summarized in Table 18.1.1. In this table, tm is the atomic radius in the metallic state and rM3+ is the radius of the lanthanide(III) ion in an eight-coordinate environment. 

It has thus been suggested [223,224] that it is the kind of ligand rather than the kind of lanthanide that affects styrene reactivity in copolymerisation the optimum ligand at the rare-earth metal atom, which appeared to be CI3CCOO, gave an adequate energy level of the catalyst, thus favouring a proper balance of the donation and back-donation processes between styrene and the rare-earth metal for the copolymerisation. 

Heterogeneous diene polymerization catalysts based on modified and unmodified silica-supported lanthanide complexes are known as efficient gas-phase polymerization catalysts for a variety of support materials and activation procedures (see Sect. 9). Metal siloxide complexes M(()SiR3 )x are routinely employed as molecular model systems of such silica-immobilized/ grafted metal centers [196-199]. Structurally authenticated alkylated rare-earth metal siloxide derivatives are scarce, which is surprising given that structural data on a considerable number of alkylated lanthanide alkoxide and aryloxide complexes with a variety of substitution patterns is meanwhile available. 

Rare earth metal triflates are recognized as a very efficient Lewis acid catalysts of several reactions including the aldol reaction, the Michael reaction, allylation, the Diels-Alder reaction, the Friedel-Crafts reaction, and glycosylation [110]. A polymer-sup-ported scandium catalyst has been developed and used for quinoline library synthesis (Sch. 8) [111], because lanthanide triflates were known to be effective in the synthesis of quinolines from A-arylimines [112,113]. This catalyst (103) was readily prepared from poly(acrylonitrile) 100 by chemical modification. A variety of combinations of aldehydes, amines, and olefins are possible in this reaction. Use of the polymer-supported catalyst has several advantages in quinoline library construction. 

Catalytic activity of rare earth elements (i.e., lanthanides, symbol Ln) in homogeneous catalysis was mentioned as early as 1922 when CeCls was tested as a true catalyst for the preparation of diethylacetal from ethanol and acetaldehyde [1]. Solutions of inorganic Ln salts were subsequently reported to catalyze the hydrolysis of carbon and phosphorous acid esters [2], the decarboxylation of acids [3], and the formation of 4-substituted 2,6-dimethylpyrimidines from acetonitrile and secondary amines [4]. In the meantime, the efficiency of rare earth metals in heterogeneous catalysis, e. g., as promoters in lanthanide (element mixtures)-... 

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