Ring-Opening Polymerization of ε-Caprolactone by Using Aluminum Complexes Bearing Aryl Thioether Phenolates: Labile Thioether Chelation

In this study, aluminum complexes bearing ferrocene-based and arylthiomethylphenolate ligands were synthesized, and their catalytic activity for ε-caprolactone (CL) polymerization was investigated. The catalytic activity of the reduced form of Al complexes was higher than that of the oxidized form. The CL polymerization rate of the reduced form fcO₂AlMe (75 min, conversion = 100%) was higher than that of the oxidized form fc^oxO₂AlMe (4320 min, conversion = 45%), and the CL polymerization rate of fc(OAlMe₂)₂ (40 min, conversion = 100%) was higher than that of fc^ox(OAlMe₂)₂ (60 min, conversion = 97%). Electron deficiency substituents on phenolate decreased the catalytic activity of Al complexes bearing arylthiomethylphenolate ligands. Density functional theory calculations revealed that thioether coordination stabilized the transition state (TS1) and that the oxidized form fc^ox(OAlMe₂)₂ exhibited weaker thioether coordination and higher activation energy in TS1 compared with those of the reduced form fcO₂AlMe. In addition, our study determined that the thioether group is a suitable chelating group for Al catalysts in CL polymerization due to its labile nature.

Living/controlled ring-opening (co)polymerization of lactones by Al-based catalysts with different sidearms

It remains a challenging task to synthesize well-defined multi-block copolymers through the controlled/living ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of lactones without transesterification, the most common side reaction occurring during copolymerization. A series of Al-based complexes with different sidearms were prepared for living ROP of lactones such as ε-caprolactone (ε-CL) and δ-valerolactone (δ-VL) in the presence of BnOH at room temperature (RT), affording medium to high molecular weight (MW) linear polyesters with Mw up to 303 kg mol-1 and narrow molecular weight distributions (MWD, Đ as low as 1.12). The coordination-insertion polymerization mechanism was proposed based on the combination of the detailed experimental data and polymerization kinetics. It should be noted that the sidearm plays a significant important role in the reactivity of these Al-based catalyst systems. More specifically, the Al2 system with a butyl substituent on the sidearm exhibited the highest polymerization activity and the Al5 system with the bulkiest sidearm showed the lowest one among the investigated catalysts. Moreover, the Al4 system with a pyridine group on the sidearm could effectively inhibit transesterification and maintain a well-defined block copolymer structure even after heating at 50 °C for 10 h, which could also be confirmed by chain-end analyses of the produced polymers with the MALDI-TOF MS measurement.

Magnesium and zinc complexes bearing NNO-tridentate ketiminate ligands: synthesis, structures and catalysis in the ring-opening polymerization of lactides

Magnesium and zinc complexes bearing pyrazoline-derived ketiminate ligands, [(L^1–3)₂M₂(μ-OBn)₂] and [M(L)₂] proceed through the “coordination–insertion” mechanism in the ROP of lactides.

Synthesis of aluminum complexes supported by 2-(1,10-phenanthrolin-2-yl)phenolate ligands and their catalysis in the ring-opening polymerization of cyclic esters

Phenanthroline-phenolate based N,N,O-chelate aluminum complexes were demonstrated to catalyze the ROP of ε-caprolactone, rac-lactide, and rac-β-butyrolactone, as well as their block copolymerization.

Aluminum alkyl complexes: synthesis, structure, and application in ROP of cyclic esters

Aluminum alkyl complexes have very useful applications as catalysts or reagents in small molecule transformations and as cocatalysts in olefin polymerization. This short review focuses on some recent developments in the design, synthesis and structure of aluminum(iii) alkyl complexes supported by various ligands bearing nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur or phosphorus atoms, and their catalytic applications in the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of cyclic esters. The coordination chemistry of the Al metal centre and the catalytic activity changes of the complexes caused by ligand modifications are also discussed.

Synthesis and catalytic application of magnesium complexes bearing pendant indolyl ligands

Three novel indole-based ligand precursors [HIndPh(R), R = methoxy, HIndPh(OMe) (); thiomethoxy, HIndPh(SMe) (); and N,N'-dimethylamino, HIndPh(NMe2) ()] have been synthesized via Sonogashira and cyclization reactions with moderate to high yield. Reactions of these ligand precursors with 0.6 equivalent of Mg(n)Bu2 in THF afforded the magnesium bis-indolyl complexes , respectively. All the ligand precursors and related magnesium complexes have been characterized by NMR spectroscopy and elemental analyses. The molecular structures are reported for compounds and . Under optimized conditions, compound demonstrates efficient catalytic activities towards the ring opening polymerization of l-lactide and ε-caprolactone in the presence of BnOH.

The ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone and l-lactide using aluminum complexes bearing benzothiazole ligands as catalysts

A series of aluminum complexes bearing benzothiazole ligands was synthesized and the ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone (CL) and l-lactide (LA) using these aluminum complexes as catalysts was studied.

Aluminum chelates supported by β-quinolyl enolate ligands: synthesis and ROP of ε-CL

The ROP of ε-CL initiated by six aluminum β-quinolyl-enolates and their benzyloxides was reported.

Optimizing ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone by using aluminum complexes bearing amide as catalysts and their application in synthesizing poly-ε-caprolactone with special initiators and other polycycloesters

A series of aluminum complexes bearing amidate ligands, including acylamide, sulfonamide, and aryl carbamate, was synthesized.

Coordinating effect in ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone using aluminum complexes bearing bisphenolate as catalysts

A series of Al complexes bearing diphenolate ligands was synthesized and their application for the ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone was studied.

A closer look at ε-caprolactone polymerization catalyzed by alkyl aluminum complexes: the effect of induction period on overall catalytic activity

Previous studies on the ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone using structurally related aluminum complexes as pre-catalysts showed inconsistent trends in the total conversion time.

Well-controlled ring-opening polymerization of cyclic esters initiated by dialkylaluminum β-diketiminates

A series of aluminum alkyl complexes nacnacRAlMe2 (2a-2h) bearing aliphatic N-substituted β-diketiminate ligands (nacnacRH = N,N'-dialkyl-2-amino-4-iminopent-2-enes), were prepared from the reaction of trialkyl aluminum and the corresponding β-diketimines. All these aluminum complexes were characterized by NMR, elemental analysis and HRMS spectroscopy. The molecular structures of complexes 2a, 2c and 2h were confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. These aluminum alkyl complexes show notable activity towards the ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone in the absence and presence of alcohol, and the resulting polymers have narrow molecular weight distributions.

Ruthenium(II) carbonyl complexes bearing quinoline-based NNO tridentate ligands as catalyst for one-pot conversion of aldehydes to amides and o-allylation of phenols

Six new octahedral ruthenium(II) carbonyl complexes having the general molecular formula [RuCl(CO)(B)L(1-2)] (B = PPh3, AsPh3 or py; L(1-2) = quinoline based NNO ligand) were synthesized. The quinoline based ligands behave as monoanionic tridentate donor and coordinated to ruthenium via ketoenolate oxygen, azomethine nitrogen and quinoline nitrogen. The composition of the complexes has been established by elemental analysis and spectral methods (FT-IR, electronic, (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, (31)P NMR and ESI-Mass). The complexes were used as efficient catalysts for one-pot conversion of various aldehydes to their corresponding primary amides in presence of NH2OH · HCl and NaHCO3. The effect of catalyst loading and reaction temperature on catalytic activity of the ruthenium(II) carbonyl complexes were also investigated. The synthesized complexes also possess good catalytic activity for the o-allylation of phenols in the presence of K2CO3 under mild conditions. The complexes afforded branched allyl aryl ethers according to a regioselective reaction.