Lithium-alkyl, -aryl, and -amido ligand-exchange dynamics of dianionic zirconium(IV) complexes with chelating amidophenolate ligands

The synthesis, characterization, and solution behavior of a series of six-coordinate zirconium(IV) dianions ZrX2(ap)2]2- (ap = 2,4-di-tert-butyl-6-(tert-butylamido)phenolate; X = Ph, 3a; X = p-tolyl, 3b; X = Me, 4; X = NMe2, 5) are described. Complexes 3-5 were prepared by treating the neutral zirconium complex Zr(ap)2(THF)2 (1) with 2 equiv of LiX or by the direct reaction of apLi2 and LiX with ZrCl4. The complexes were isolated as lithium-etherate salts, and they were characterized by NMR spectroscopy and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. In non-coordinating solvents such as benzene-d6, complexes 3-5 are robust in solution, but in coordinating solvents such as THF-d8, dissociation of LiX was observed. The rate of LiX loss was evaluated by exchange reactions; the reaction rate constants span nine orders of magnitude at 298 K, with the slowest reaction being the dissociation of PhLi from 3a (tau1/2 = 4 h) and the fastest reaction being the dissociation of LiNMe2 from 5 (tau1/2 = 53 mus). In the case of LiNMe2 dissociation from 5, activation parameters suggest that the rate-determining step is purely dissociative; however, for diphenyl and dimethyl complexes 3a and 4, respectively, activation parameters suggest a solvent-assisted rate-determining step.