Control of Hydrolysis and Condensation Reactions of Titanium tert-butoxide by Chemical Modification with Catechol

Titanium tert-butoxide (Ti(OC(CH₃)₃)₄; Ti(O ^t Bu)₄) was chemically modified with catechol (C₆H₄(OH)₂) and hydrolysis and condensation behavior of a resultant modified alkoxide was studied. Spectroscopic results revealed that the reaction between titanium tert-butoxide and catechol resulted in the formation of catecholate groups (C₆H₄O₂ ^2–) bound to titanium and corresponding release of tert-butanol. The mass spectrometry and cryoscopy indicated that main species was a dimer (C₆H₄O₂)₂Ti₂(O ^t Bu)₄]. The hydrolysis of the modified alkoxide in the system with Ti:tetrahydrofuran (THF):H₂O = 1:10:x (x = 0.5–10) resulted in the partial hydrolysis, and all the hydrolyzed products after the drying under reduced pressure were soluble in THF and chloroform.