Propene polymerization using homogeneous MAO-activated metallocene catalysts: Me2Si(Benz[e]Indenyl)2ZrCl2/MAO vs. Me2Si(2-Me-Benz[e]Indenyl)2ZrCl2/MAO

Propene was polymerized at 40°C and 2-bar propene in toluene using methylalumoxane (MAO) activated rac-Me₂Si(Benz[e]Indenyl)₂ZrCl₂ ( BI ) and rac-Me₂Si(2-Me-Benz[e]Indenyl)₂ZrCl₂ ( MBI ). Catalyst BI /MAO polymerizes propene with high activity to afford low molecular weight polypropylene, whereas MBI /MAO is less active and produces high molecular weight polypropylene. Variation of reaction conditions such as propene concentration, temperature, concentration of catalyst components, and addition of hydrogen reveals that the lower molecular weight polypropylene produced with BI /MAO results from chain transfer to propene monomer following a 2,1-insertion. A large fraction of both metallocene catalyst systems is deactivated upon 2,1-insertion. Such dormant sites can be reactivated by H₂-addition, which affords active metallocene hydrides. This effect of H₂-addition is reflected by a decreasing content of head-to-head enchainment and the formation of polypropylene with n-butyl end groups. Both catalysts show a strong dependence of activity on propene concentration that indicates a formal reaction order of 1.7 with respect to propene. MBI /MAO shows a much higher dependence of the activity on temperature than BI /MAO. At elevated temperatures, MBI /MAO polymerizes propene faster than BI /MAO. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Crystal Structures of Twisted Di(2-Pyridyl)ketone and Planar Azo-di(2-Pyridine) and Their Discussion Based on PM3 Enthalpy Hypersurfaces for the Isoelectronic Molecules

Single crystal structure determinations prove the two pyridine substituents in di(2-pyridyl)ketone (H₄C₄NC)₂C=O to be twisted out of the carbonyl skeleton plane by torsion angles (OCCN) of 41° and –163°, in contrast to their planar arrangement in azo-di(2-pyridine) H₄C₄NC)-N=N-(CNC₄H₄). In order to rationalize the surprising difference between the two isoelectronic molecules, approximate PM3 enthalpy of formation hypersurfaces have been calculated for each of the two ring torsions, which are assumed to be the dominant ones among the 3N – 6 = 60 degrees of freedom. For both the ketone and the azo derivative, global minima are calculated, the torsion angles of which deviate from the crystal structure results, and, therefore, support the assumption that both the experimentally determined twisting of di(2-pyridyl)ketone as well as the flattening of azo-di(2-pyridine) might be affected by the crystal packing.     

Torsionsabhängige Beiträge zur Spin-Bahn-Kopplung in organischen Molekülen

Zusammenfassung Die Spin-Bahn-Kopplung der niedrigen elektronischen Anregungszustände von organischen Molekülen wird untersucht. Es wird gezeigt, daß die Zerstörung der aromatischen Ebene durch Torsionen oder Schwingungen zu nicht-verschwindenden Zweizentrenbeiträgen führt. Am Beispiel des Triphenylmethyl-Kations wird mit Hilfe der LCAO MO SCF-Methode die Größenordnung der auftretenden Wechselwirkungen ermittelt. Diese haben wahrscheinlich großen Einfluß auf die strahlungslosen Prozesse in Molekülen mit leicht beweglichen Gruppen.

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Spin-orbit coupling of the lower excited electronic states of organic molecules has been investigated. It is shown that any destruction of the aromatic plane through torsions or vibrations leads to non-vanishing contributions from two-centre integrals. The order of magnitude of this type of interactions is determined for the triphenylmethyl-cation with the aid of the LCAO MO SCF method. These interactions probably have much influence on radiationless transitions in molecules containing mobile groups.

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Résumé Etude du couplage spin-orbite dans les états électroniques exités les plus bas des molécules organiques. Toute non planéité aromatique créée par torsions ou vibrations entraîne une contribution non nulle de la part des intégrales bicentriques. L'ordre de grandeur de ce type d'interaction est detérminé, à l'aide de la méthode L.C.A.O. M.O. SCF, pour le cation triphenylméthyle. Ces interactions ont probablement beaucoup d'influence sur les transitions non radiatives dans les molécules contenant des groupements mobiles.

     

An ab initio study of the geometry,energy, and selected force constants for the three planar conformers of carbonic acid,and the bicarbonate ion; and of the energy for the reaction H2O + CO2 → H2CO3

Ab initio calculations using the unscaled 4-31G basis set have been carried out on the cc, tc, and tt conformers of carbonic acid and the bicarbonate ion, with full geometry optimization assuming the structures to be planar. The complete harmonic force field is reported for the (most stable) tt conformer and for the bicarbonate ion, also selected quadratic force constants for the cc and tc conformers. The changes in certain bond lengths and stretching force constants in the cc → tc, tc → tt, and cc → tt conformer conversion reactions are indicative of intramolecular hydrogen bonding, C?O…H? O and H? O…H? O, which is examined in greater detail by partitioning the overall conformer conversion energy into distortion and bonding energy components. The fundamental vibration frequencies for the tt conformer and the bicarbonate ion are calculated from the force constant matrices, and hence, using a scaling factor based on a comparison of calculated and experimental values for the bicarbonate ion and trans-formic acid, a value is predicted for the zero-point energy of the tt conformer. A new estimate of ΔH? for the hydration reaction, H₂O + CO₂ → H₂CO₃, at 298 K in the gas phase; is made from thermochemical data, +20.2 ± 3.4 kJ mol^?1, which, together with estimates of (H₂₉₈? – H₀?) and the zero-point energy for H₂CO₃, gives +8.1 ± 7.0 kJ mol^?1 for ΔE_T(expt). ΔE_T calculated from the 4-31G basis set data is -29.1 kJ mol^?1. Comparison of the experimental value, the Hartree–Fock limit value, and values calculated with a variety of basis sets for the bond separation reaction, CO₂ + CH₄ → 2H₂CO, suggests that the differences, ΔE_T(expt) minus ΔE_T(SCF ), are due mainly to basis set limitations and not substantial correlation energy contributions.     

The first 1,2-dibora-[2]ferrocenophane and its dynamic behaviour in solution

1,2-Bis(dimethylamino)-1,2-dibora-[2]ferrocenophane (1) was prepared by the reaction of 1,1′-dilithioferrocene with 1,2-dichlorobis(dimethylamino)diborane(4). In addition to hindered rotation about the B-N bond (ΔG^‡ > 80 kJ mol⁻¹), another dynamic process was revealed by ¹H and ¹³C NMR in solution at low temperature, and interpreted as motion of the cyclopentadienyl rings between staggered and eclipsed conformations (ΔG_{(233 K)}^‡ = 44 ± 1 kJ mol⁻¹).     

A molecular orbital study of the rotation about the C-C bond in 1,3-butadiene

The geometry and energy of 1,3-butadiene have been calculated using the 6-311G** basis set as a function of the CCCC dihedral angle-0 ° (trans), 30 °, 60 °, 75 °, 90 °, 120 °, 135 °, 150 °, 165 ° and 180 ° (cis)-assuming that the vinyl groups remain planar. Potential minima are located at 0 ° and 141.4 °, with the trans structure more stable than the gauche by 13.2 kJ mol^–1. Potential maxima are located at 76.7 °, giving a barrier height of 25.4 kJ mol^–1 relative to the trans structure, and at 180 ° giving a barrier height of 3.0 kJ mol^–1 relative to the 141.4 °-gauche structure. Using the 6-31G* basis set the inclusion of electron correlation, accounting for about 52% of the correlation energy, was found to produce no significant change in the shape of the potential energy curve. The magnitude of the expectation energy differences is such that both barriers with respect to the 14l.4 °-gauche maximum structure can be categorized unequivocally as attractive-dominant, whereas the values for the energy barrier with respect to the trans structure, although characteristic of a repulsive-dominant barrier at the 6–311G** level, are sufficiently small that higher level calculations might give the opposite result. Analysis of V _nn for the conversion reactions cis 150 °-gauche, trans 60 °-gauche, and trans 90 °-gauche in terms of the individual contributions from the various internuclear interactions shows that nonbonded interactions are important, not only in initiating the destabilization of the crowded cis structure, but also through-out the entire range of CCCC dihedral angles, 0 ° to 180 °.     

Die Reaktionen von Eisen(III)-chlorid mit Trithiazylchlorid. Die Kristallstruktur von [S4N4Cl]+[FeCl4]⊖

Reactions of Iron Trichloride with Trithyazyl Chloride. Crystal Structure of [S₄N₄Cl]⁺[FeCl₄]^? Iron trichloride reacts with (NSCl)₃ yielding S₄N₄[FeCl₄]₂, S₃N₃Cl₂[FeCl₄] or S₄N₄Cl[FeCl₄], depending on the reaction conditions. The i.r. spectra prove the presence of [FeCl₄]^? ions for all three compounds. The ⁵⁷Fe-Mössbauer spectra show a slight quadrupole splitting at 80 K for S₃N₃Cl₂[FeCl₄] (ΔE^Q = 0.42 mm · s^?1) and S₄N₄Cl[FeCl₄] (ΔE^Q = 0.23 mm · s^?1), which indicates a slight deformation of the FeCl₄^? tetrahedra. The crystal structure of S₄N₄Cl[FeCl₄] was determined and refined with X-ray diffraction data (2549 independent reflexions, R = 0.026). S₄N₄Cl[FeCl₄] crystallizes in the triclinic space group P1 with two formula units per unit cell. The lattice constants are a = 712, b = 911, c = 1006 pm, α = 76.5°, β = 83.8° and γ = 80.5°. The structure consists of the so far unknown [S₄N₄Cl]^⊕ cations and slightly deformed FeCl₄^? ions. The [S₄N₄Cl]^⊕ ion consists of a S₄N₄ ring built up of two nearly planar S₃N₂ fragments having a dihedral angle of 136°. The average SN bond length is 157 pm, the SCI bond length 214 pm.     

ESR.-Messungen an Radikal-Anionen Trimethylsilyl-substituierter Hetero-π-Systeme

The ESR. spectra of the radical anions of trimethylsilyl-substituted derivatives of p-benzoquinone, phenylketone, diimine, p-benzoquinone-diimide, aniline and p-phenylenediamine are reported. In most cases the coupling constants of ²⁹Si isotopes in natural abundance have been measured. The comparison of the ESR. data for the radical anions of the trimethylsilyl derivatives with those for the radical anions of the corresponding parent hydrocarbons and/or alkyl-substituted compounds provide additional evidence for the overall electron withdrawing effect of the trimethylsilyl substituent (Si←C_π and Si←n_π delocalization).