Bimetallic Coordination Insertion Polymerization of Unprotected Polar Monomers: Copolymerization of Amino Olefins and Ethylene by Dinickel Bisphenoxyiminato Catalysts

Phosphine-sulfonate-based nickel catalysts: ethylene polymerization and copolymerization with polar-functionalized norbornenes

A series of biaryl-based phosphine-sulfonate nickel catalysts are shown to mediate efficient ethylene polymerization and copolymerization with polar-functionalized norbornene comonomers.

Ethylene polymerization catalyzed by bridging Ni/Zn heterobimetallics

The effect of proximal Zn halides on Ni-catalyzed ethylene polymerization is reported in this work.

Dizinc Lactide Polymerization Catalysts: Hyperactivity by Control of Ligand Conformation and Metallic Cooperativity

Understanding how to moderate and improve catalytic activity is critical to improving degradable polymer production. Here, di- and monozinc catalysts, coordinated by bis(imino)diphenylamido ligands, show remarkable activities and allow determination of the factors controlling performance. In most cases, the dizinc catalysts significantly out-perform the monozinc analogs. Further, for the best dizinc catalyst, the ligand conformation controls activity: the catalyst with "folded" ligand conformation shows turnover frequency (TOF) values up to 60 000 h(-1) (0.1 mol % loading, 298 K, [LA]=1 m), whilst that with a "planar" conformation is much slower, under similar conditions (TOF=30 h(-1) ). Dizinc catalysts also perform very well under immortal conditions, showing improved control, and are able to tolerate loadings as low as 0.002 mol % whilst conserving high activity (TOF=12 500 h(-1) ).

Methyl Complexes of the Transition Metals

Organometallic chemistry can be considered as a wide area of knowledge that combines concepts of classic organic chemistry, that is, based essentially on carbon, with molecular inorganic chemistry, especially with coordination compounds. Transition-metal methyl complexes probably represent the simplest and most fundamental way to view how these two major areas of chemistry combine and merge into novel species with intriguing features in terms of reactivity, structure, and bonding. Citing more than 500 bibliographic references, this review aims to offer a concise view of recent advances in the field of transition-metal complexes containing M-CH3 fragments. Taking into account the impressive amount of data that are continuously provided by organometallic chemists in this area, this review is mainly focused on results of the last five years. After a panoramic overview on M-CH3 compounds of Groups 3 to 11, which includes the most recent landmark findings in this area, two further sections are dedicated to methyl-bridged complexes and reactivity.

Synthesis and structure of the first discrete dinuclear cationic aluminum complexes

The preparation of discrete mono- and dicationic dinuclear aluminum complexes from the parent charge neutral dinuclear precursors has been studied. The first crystal structure of a dicationic dialuminum complex is reported.

Ethylene polymerization by salicylaldimine nickel(ii) complexes containing a dibenzhydryl moiety

The synthesis, characterization and ethylene polymerization properties of a series of salicylaldimine Ni(ii) complexes with a dibenzhydryl moiety are described.

Frustratingly synergic effect of cobalt–nickel heterometallic precatalysts on ethylene reactivity: the cobalt and its heteronickel complexes bearing 2-methyl-2,4-bis(6-aryliminopyridin-2-yl)-1H-1,5-benzodiazepines

The title complexes showed good activities toward ethylene reactivity when obtained oligomers followed a Poisson distribution, but the mononuclear cobalt complexes showed higher activities than the cobalt–nickel analogues.

Amine–imine palladium catalysts for living polymerization of ethylene and copolymerization of ethylene with methyl acrylate: incorporation of acrylate units into the main chain and branch end

A bulky amine–imine palladium catalyst can polymerize ethylene in a living fashion. Copolymerizations of ethylene and methyl acrylate afford branched copolymers with terminal and main chain acrylate units.

Influence of ligand second coordination sphere effects on the olefin (co)polymerization properties of α-diimine Pd(ii) catalysts

A series of α-diimine ligands and their corresponding palladium complexes were synthesized and characterized.

Ligand-Unsymmetrical Phenoxyiminato Dinickel Catalyst for High Molecular Weight Long-Chain Branched Polyethylenes

An unsymmetrical bimetallic catalyst, (CF₃/SO₂)FI²-Ni₂, having a CF₃-functionalized phenoxyiminato Ni(II) center, which produces linear high-M_w polyolefin (CF₃/Ni) joined to an adjacent SO₂-functionalized phenoxyiminato Ni(II) center, which produces highly branched low-M_w polyolefin (SO₂/Ni), was synthesized and fully characterized. In ethylene homopolymerizations, (CF₃/SO₂)FI²-Ni₂ affords monomodal (Đ = 1.7), highly, long-chain branched (69 branches/1000 C) polyethylenes with M_w = 24 kg/mol. In contrast, bimetallic (CF₃)FI²-Ni₂ and (SO₂)FI²-Ni₂ produce high-M_w (25 kg/mol) exclusively methyl-branched (40 branches/1000 C) and low-M_w (4.5 kg/mol) highly branched (105 branches/1000 C) polyethylenes, respectively, while tandem monometallic (CF₃)FI-Ni + (SO₂)FI-Ni catalyst mixtures yield a bimodal polyolefin mixture (Đ = 6.4).

Insertion Homo- and Copolymerization of Diallyl Ether

The previously unresolved issue of polymerization of allyl monomers CH2 CHCH2 X is overcome by a palladium-catalyzed insertion polymerization of diallyl ether as a monomer. An enhanced 2,1-insertion of diallyl ether as compared to mono-allyl ether retards the formation of an unreactive five-membered cyclic O-chelate (after 1,2-insertion) that otherwise hinders further polymerization, and also enhances incorporation in ethylene polymers (20.4 mol %). Cyclic ether repeat units are formed selectively (96 %-99 %) by an intramolecular insertion of the second allyl moiety of the monomer. These features even enable a homopolymerization to yield polymers (poly-diallyl ether) with degrees of polymerization of DPn ≈44.

Bimetallic Complexes Supported by a Redox-Active Ligand with Fused Pincer-Type Coordination Sites

The remarkable chemistry of mononuclear complexes featuring tridentate, meridionally chelating "pincer" ligands has stimulated the development of ligand frameworks containing multiple pincer sites. Here, the coordination chemistry of a novel pentadentate ligand (L(N3O2)) that provides two closely spaced NNO pincer-type compartments fused together at a central diarylamido unit is described. The trianionic L(N3O2) chelate supports homobimetallic structures in which each M(II) ion (M = Co, Cu, Zn) is bound in a meridional fashion by the bridging diarylamido N atom and O,N-donors of the salicyaldimine arms. The metal centers are also coordinated by a mono- or bidentate auxiliary ligand (L(aux)), resulting in complexes with the general form [M2(L(N3O2))(L(aux))2](+) (where L(aux) = 1-methyl-benzimidazole (1MeBI), 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy), 4,4'-dibromo-2,2'-bipyridine (bpy(Br2)), or (S)-2-(4-isopropyl-4,5-dihydrooxazolyl)pyridine (S-(iPr)OxPy)). The fused nature of the NNO pincer sites results in short metal-metal distances ranging from 2.70 Å for [Co2(L(N3O2)) (bpy)2](+) to 3.28 Å for [Zn2(L(N3O2)) (bpy)2](+), as revealed by X-ray crystallography. The complexes possess C2 symmetry due to the twisting of the aryl rings of the μ-NAr2 core; spectroscopic studies indicate that chiral L(aux) ligands, such as S-(iPr)OxPy, are capable of controlling the helical sense of the L(N3O2) scaffold. Since the four- or five-coordinate M(II) centers are linked solely by the amido moiety, each features an open coordination site in the intermetallic region, allowing for the possibility of metal-metal cooperativity in small-molecule activation. Indeed, the dicobalt(II) complex [Co2(L(N3O2)) (bpy(Br2))2](+) reacts with O2 to yield a dicobalt(III) species with a μ-1,2-peroxo ligand. The bpy-containing complexes exhibit rich electrochemical properties due to multiple metal- and ligand-based redox events across a wide (3.0 V) potential window. Using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT), it was determined that one-electron oxidation of [Co2(L(N3O2)) (bpy)2](+) results in formation of a S = 1/2 species with a L(N3O2)-based radical coupled to low-spin Co(II) centers.

Bimetallic Zirconium Amine Bis(phenolate) Polymerization Catalysts: Enhanced Activity and Tacticity Control for Polyolefin Synthesis

Binucleating multidentate amine bis(phenolate) ligands with rigid terphenyl backbones were designed to support two zirconium centers locked in close proximity. Polymerizations of propylene or 1-hexene with the synthesized bimetallic precatalysts resulted in polymers with significantly higher isotacticity (up to 79% mmmm) in comparison to the stereoirregular polymers produced with previously reported Cs -symmetric monometallic analogues. The bimetallic precatalysts also display higher activity (up to 124 kg of poly(1-hexene) (mmol of Zr)-1 h-1), in comparison to the monometallic analogues, and among the highest activities reported for nonmetallocene catalysts. The stereocontrol is consistent with a bimetallic mechanism involving remote steric interactions with the ligand sphere of the second metal center.

Dipalladium catalyst for olefin polymerization: introduction of acrylate units into the main chain of branched polyethylene

A dipalladium complex with a double-decker structure catalyzes ethylene-acrylate copolymerization to produce the branched polymer containing the acrylate units in the polymer chain, not at the branch terminus. The cooperation of the two palladium centers, which are fixed in a rigid framework of the macrocyclic ligand, is proposed to have a significant dinuclear effect on the copolymerization.