Bidentate Iron(II) Dichloride Complexes Bearing Substituted 8-(Benzimidazol-2-yl)quinolines: Synthesis, Characterization, and Ethylene Polymerization Behavior

Synthesis, Characterization, and Catalytic Behaviors in Isoprene Polymerization of Pyridine-Oxazoline-Ligated Cobalt Complexes

A family of pyridine-oxazoline-ligated cobalt complexes L2CoCl23a-h were synthesized and characterized. Determined via single-crystal X-ray diffraction, complexes 3a and 3d, ligated by two ligands, displayed a distorted tetrahedral coordination of a cobalt center. The X-ray structure indicated the pyridine-oxazoline ligands acted as unusual mono-dentate ligands by coordinating only to Noxazoline. Upon activation with AlEt2Cl (diethylaluminum chloride), these cobalt complexes all exhibited high catalytic activity (up to 2.5 × 106 g·molCo-1·h-1), affording cis-1,4-co-3,4-polyisoprene with molecular weights of 4.4-176 kg mol-1 and a narrow Ð of 1.79-3.42, suggesting a single-site nature of the active sites. The structure of cobalt catalysts and reaction parameters, especially co-catalysts and the reaction temperature, all have significant influence on the polymerization activity but not on the microstructure of polyisoprene.

Synthesis and structural characterization of four di-chlorido-bis-(cyclo-propyl-alkynyl-amidine)-metal complexes

Deliberate hydrolysis of lithium cyclo-propyl-alkynylamidinates, Li[c-C3H5-C≡C(NR')2] [R' = i Pr, Cy = cyclo-hex-yl)], afforded the hitherto unknown neutral cyclo-propyl-alkynyl-amidine derivatives c-C3H5-C≡C-C(NR')(NHR') [R' = i Pr (1), Cy (2)]. Subsequent reactions of 1 or 2 with metal(II) chlorides, MCl2 (M = Mn, Fe, Co), provided the title complexes di-chlorido-bis-(3-cyclo-propyl-N,N'-diisopropyl-prop-2-ynamidine)-manganese(II), [MnCl2(C12H20N2)2], (3), di-chlorido-bis-(3-cyclo-propyl-N,N'-diisopropyl-prop-2-ynamidine)-iron(II), [FeCl2(C12H20N2)2], (4), di-chlorido-bis-(N,N'-di-cyclo-hexyl-3-cyclo-propyl-prop-2-ynamidine)-iron(II), [FeCl2(C18H28N2)2], (5), and di-chlorido-bis-(N,N'-di-cyclo-hexyl-3-cyclo-propyl-prop-2-ynamidine)-cobalt(II), [CoCl2(C18H28N2)2], (6), or more generally MCl2[c-C3H5-C≡C-C(NR')(NHR')]2 [R' = i Pr, M = Mn (3), Fe (4); R' = Cy, M = Fe (5), Co (6)] in moderate yields (30-39%). Besides their spectroscopic data (IR and MS) and elemental analyses, all complexes 3-6 were structurally characterized. The two isopropyl-substituted complexes 3 and 4 are isotypic, and so are the cyclo-hexyl-substituted complexes 5 and 6. In all cases, the central metal atom is coordinated by two Cl atoms and two N atoms in a distorted-tetra-hedral fashion, and the structure is supported by intra-molecular N-H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds.

Tailoring iron complexes for ethylene oligomerization and/or polymerization

Recent progress in the use of iron-based complex pre-catalysts for ethylene reactivity is reviewed, illustrating the current state-of-the-art and the potential usefulness of such systems for delivering solely ethylene oligomerization or polymerization products. The problems associated with the industrial use of late transition metal complex pre-catalysts are generally regarded as catalyst deactivation and the formation of more products of lower molecular weight at elevated temperature. These problems have been addressed for iron-based complex pre-catalysts via the fine tuning of substituents of existing ligands and/or the design of new ligand sets. Results revealed that modified bis(imino)pyridyliron dichlorides were capable of operating at elevated temperatures, and were capable of delivering highly linear polyethylene. Other new models of iron complexes have achieved high activity for ethylene oligomerization and/or polymerization. Particularly successful has been the use of the 2-iminophenanthrolyliron pre-catalyst, which have now been utilized in a 500 tonne pilot plant.