Dmitrii M. Lyubov

Bis(guanidinate) Alkoxide Complexes of Lanthanides : Synthesis, Structures and Use in Immortal and Stereoselective Ring-Opening Polymerization of Cyclic Esters

A series of new bis(guanidinate) alkoxide Group 3 metal complexes [Ln((Me3Si)2NC(NiPr)2)2(OR)] (R=OtBu, Ln=Y, Nd, Sm, Lu; R=OiPr, Ln=Y, Nd, Lu) has been synthesized. X-ray structural determinations revealed that bis(guanidinate) tert-butoxides are monomeric complexes. The isopropoxide complex [Y((Me3Si)2NC(NiPr)2)2(OiPr)] undergoes slow decomposition in solution, to afford the unusual dimeric amido complex [(Y((Me3Si)2NC(NiPr)2)2(mu-N(iPr)C triple chemical bond N))2]. Complexes [Ln((Me3Si)2NC(NiPr)2)2(OR)] (R=OtBu, Ln=Y, Nd, Sm, Lu; R=OiPr, Ln=Y, Nd, Lu) are active catalysts/initiators for the ROP of rac-lactide and rac-beta-butyrolactone under mild conditions. Most of those polymerizations proceed with a significant degree of control. Bis(guanidinate) alkoxides appear to be well suited for achieving immortal polymerization of lactide, through the introduction of large amounts of isopropanol as a chain-transfer agent. The synthesized complexes are able to promote the stereoselective ROP of rac-beta-butyrolactone to afford syndiotactic poly(hydrobutyrate) through a chain-end control mechanism, while they are surprisingly non-stereoselective for the ROP of lactide under strictly similar conditions.

Benzoimidazole-Pyridylamido Zirconium and Hafnium Alkyl Complexes as Homogeneous Catalysts for Tandem Carbon Dioxide Hydrosilylation to Methane

Neutral ZrIV and HfIV alkyl/amido complexes stabilized by a tridentate N ligand that contains a “rolling” heterodentate benzoimidazole fragment have been prepared and characterized. The ultimate nature of the ligand denticity, the electronic properties of the ligand binding pocket and the metal coordination environment are controlled by the protection/deprotection of the benzoimidazole NH group. The metal precursor used [MIV(Bn)4 or MIV(NMe2)4] also has an influence on the final coordination sphere of the complex; indeed, a permanent central pyridine dearomatization occurs in the presence of dimethylamido ancillary groups. DFT calculations on the real system have been used to elucidate the mechanism. Selected alkyl species from this series have been scrutinized for the tandem hydrosilylation of CO2 to CH4 in combination with the strong Lewis acid B(C6F5)3 using a variety of hydrosilanes. A positive effect of the hardness modification of the ligand donor atom set is observed in the catalytic outcomes. Indeed, κ3{N−,N,N−}ZrIV(Bn)2 catalyzes the process to methane selectively with a turnover frequency as high as 272 h−1 (at 96 % substrate conversion) almost twice as much as that claimed for the benchmark κ3{O−,O,O−}ZrIV(Bn)2 complex under similar experimental conditions.