Reactions of methylaluminoxane and trimethylaluminum with zirconium and titanium tetracyclopentadienyl derivatives

Gas volumometry, gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, and ESR were used to study reactions of methylaluminoxane (MAO) and Me₃Al with Cp₄Zr, Cp₄Ti, and 2,2,6,6-tetra-methylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO). It was shown that the reaction is accompanied by evolution of methane, whose amount exceeds the initial concentration of the starting metallocene or free radical by a few hundred times, but in all the cases is no more than 15% of the starting amount of the Me??Al fragments in the organoaluminum compound. Metal-centered radicals were detected by ESR in the systems with Zr and Ti metallocene derivatives. Mechanism of the observed reactions is discussed.