Lewis acid tetrahydrofuran anionic

Although anionic polymerization of cyclic ethers is generally limited to oxiranes, there are reports of successful oxetane and tetrahydrofuran polymerizations in the presence of a Lewis acid. Aluminum porphyrin alone does not polymerize oxetane, but polymerization proceeds in the presence of a Lewis acid [Sugimoto and Inoue, 1999]. Similarly, THF is polymerized by sodium triphenylmethyl in the presence of a Lewis acid such as aluminum alkoxide [Kubisa and Penczek, 1999]. The Lewis acid complexes at the ether oxygen, which weakens (polarizes) the carbon-oxygen bond and enhances nucleophilic attack. 

Cationic olefin complexes of dicarbonyl(> -cyclopentadienyl) iron have been of wide interest in syntheses for a number of years. These complexes, generally isolated as their tetrafluoroborate or hexafluorophosphate salts, have been prepared by the reaction of Fe(f -CsHs)(CO)2Br with simple olefins in the presence of Lewis acid catalysts, by protonation of allyl ligands in Fe(t/ -CsHjXCO)2[(allyl)KC ] complexes, or by treatment of these with cationic electrophiles, by hydride abstraction from Fe(f) -CsHjXCO)2(alkyI) complexes, through reaction of epoxides with Fe(fi -CsHjXCO)2 anion followed by protonation, or by thermally induced ligand exchange between [Fe( i -CjHsXCO)2(ij -2-methyH-propene)][BF4] " or [Fe( -C,HsXCO)2(tetrahydrofuran)][BF4] and excess olefin. 

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