Interaction of carbon dioxide with zirconocene and hafnocene dihydrides

Zirconocene and hafnocene dihydrides Cp₂MH₂ (M = Zr, Hf) are capable of rapid absorbing carbon dioxide at room temperature and atmospheric pressure in a THF medium. In the case of Cp₂ZrH₂, the reaction results in the cleavage of the C=O bond of a CO₂ molecule to form cyclic trimeric zirconocene oxide Cp₂ZrO]₃, whose structure was confirmed by analytical and spectral methods as well as by X-ray diffraction study. Small amounts of formaldehyde and methyl formate are found in the organic products of the reaction.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 9, pp. 2366–2368, September, 1996.