Spectral studies of bridged bisindenylmetallocenes and products of their reactions with polymethylalumoxane in toluene and dichloromethane in the visible region

Quantitative characteristics of changes in the energy of charge transfer from -bonded ligands to metal are presented for the series of structurally similar ansa-metallocene complexes of IVB Group elements. The changes are caused by the solvation effect, replacement of -bonded chlorine ligands by methyl groups and of bridging ethylene groups by dimethylsilylene moieties, introduction of the methyl substituent into position 2 and phenyl substituent into position 4 of the indenyl system, variation of the transition metal in metallocene, and formation of complexes with polymethylalumoxane (MAO) at different Al_MAO/Zr ratios. These effects are found to be additive.     

1H NMR study of the catalytic system (rac-Me2Si(2-Me,4-PhInd)2ZrCl2— polymethylalumoxane)—triisobutylaluminum

The products of the reactions of polymethylalumoxane (MAO) with triisobutylaluminum (TIBA), rac-Me₂Si(2-Me,4-PhInd)₂ZrCl₂ (1) with MAO (1 + MAO), and (1 + MAO) + TIBA were studied by ¹H NMR at different molar ratios of the components. When the ratio Al_TIBA/Al_MAO is ∼6, the reaction between MAO and TIBA involves the replacement of the methyl group of MAO by isobutyl groups and the formation of isobutylmethylalumoxane or mixed isobutylmethylalumoxane structures. When the TIBA content in the system increases to 30 mol.%, these structures are rearranged to form products with a low degree of association. With the equimolar ratio of the reactants, the main reaction products are tetraisobutylalumoxane and polyisobutylalumoxane. The 1 + MAO system with the molar ratio Al_MAO/Zr = 50 affords a MAO-bonded monomethyl monochloride derivative [L₂ZrCl-μ-Me]^δ+[MAO]^δ−. An increase in this ratio to 150 produces intermediate binuclear complexes [L₂ZrCl-μ-Me-MeZrL₂]⁺[MAO]⁻ and [Me₂Al-(μ-Me)₂-ZrL₂]⁺[MAO]⁻. The addition of TIBA induces the replacement of the ZrMe groups by isobutyl groups at the first step of the interaction and formation of nonidentified reaction products at the subsequent steps. __________ Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 4, pp. 934–940, April, 2005.     

Comparison of the catalytic activity of Ziegler-type catalysts based on Cp2ZrCl2 and (Cp2ZrCl)2O

The rates of ethylene polymerization catalyzed by Cp₂ZrCl₂-polymethylalumoxane and (Cp₂ZrCl)₂O-polymethylalumoxane are equal. According to NMR and ESR spectral data, the same precatalyst, presumably Cp₂ZrMe₂, is formed in both systems by the action of AlMe₃. This accounts for the equal catalytic activity of the systems based on Cp₂ZrCl₂ and (Cp₂ZrCl)₂O. A scheme of reactions resulting in cleavage of the Zr-O-Zr bridge is proposed and confirmed by spectroscopic data.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 12, pp. 2104–2107, December, 1993.     

Spectrophotometric study of zirconocene/polymethylalumoxane catalytic systems: principal component analysis and parametric modeling

Transformation of electronic absorption spectra of zirconocene catalytic systems Ph₂CCpFluZrCl₂-polymethylalumoxane (MAO) and rac-Me₂Si(2-Me,4-PhInd)₂ZrCl₂-MAO (Flu is fluorenyl, Ind is indenyl) in toluene was studied upon a change in the ratio of reactants Al_MAO/Zr from 0 to 3000 mol mol⁻¹. Analysis of the spectroscopic data using statistical methods determined the number of reaction products in each system. A reaction model including three equilibria and being common for the both systems was proposed. Effective equilibrium constants and absorption spectra of individual reaction products were determined by parametric self-modeling of the experimental spectra. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 10, pp. 2257–2264, October, 2005.