Selective alkylation and Suzuki coupling as an efficient strategy for introducing functional anchors to the ethylene-bis(indenyl) ligand

Chiral ansa-ethylene-bis(indenyl)-metal complexes, EBI-MX₂, are useful pre-catalysts for a wide variety of reactions, including hydrogenations, hydrosilylations, and polymerization reactions. In order to immobilize these complexes onto heterogeneous supports, a new methodology was developed to introduce functional anchors to the ethylene-bis(indenyl) ligand, EBI. This was accomplished by selective alkylation of indene to form toluene-4-sulfonic acid 2-(3H-inden-1-yl)-ethyl ester, which was then used to alkylate 6-bromoindene. The selective introduction of an aryl bromide then undergoes coupling reactions with aryl borates via the Suzuki coupling to efficiently introduce an alkenyl or alcohol, functional anchor in a simple four step synthesis.