Lisanne Becker

Formation of tri- and tetranuclear titanacycles through decamethyltitanocene-mediated intermolecular C-C coupling of dinitriles.

The reactions of [Cp*2 Ti(η(2) -Me3 SiC2 SiMe3 )] (Cp*=η(5) -pentamethylcyclopentadienyl) with various dicyano compounds were investigated. Nitrile-nitrile CC couplings result in multinuclear complexes owing to the bifunctionality of the substrates. Applying 1,3- or 1,4-dicyanobenzene led to tri- and tetranuclear complexes of the rare 1-metalla-2,5-diaza-cyclopenta-2,4-dienes. These are potential catalysts and were tested in the ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone. The reaction with adiponitrile as alkyl dinitrile afforded a trinuclear 1-metalla-2,5-diaza-cyclopent-3-ene through additional protonation of the nitrogen atoms. The structure and bonding of the products were investigated by X-ray crystallography and DFT analysis to understand the molecular organization in the macrocycles.

Reactivity Study of Pyridyl‐Substituted 1‐Metalla‐2,5‐diaza‐cyclopenta‐2,4‐dienes of Group 4 Metallocenes

In this work the reactivity of 1-metalla-2,5-diaza-cyclopenta-2,4-dienes of group 4 metallocenes, especially of the pyridyl-substituted examples, towards small molecules is investigated. The addition of H2 , CO2 , Ph-C≡N, 2-py-C≡N, 1,3-dicyanobenzene or 2,6-dicyanopyridine results in exchange reactions, which are accompanied by the elimination of a nitrile. For CO2 , a coordination to the five-membered cycle occurs in case of Cp*2 Zr(N=C(2-py)-C(2-py)=N). A 1,4-diaza-buta-1,3-diene complex is formed by H-transfer in the conversion of the analogous titanocene compound with CH3 -C≡N, PhCH2 -C≡N or acetone. For CH3 -C≡N a coupling product of three acetonitrile molecules is established additionally. In order to split off the metallocene from the coupled nitriles, we examined reactions with HCl, PhPCl2 , PhPSCl2 and SOCl2 . In the last case, the respective thiadiazole oxides and the metallocene dichlorides were obtained. A subsequent reaction produced thiadiazoles.

Crystal structure of bis­{μ2-[(2-imino­cyclo­pentyl­idene)methyl­idene]aza­nido-κ2N:N′}bis­[(η5-penta­methyl­cyclo­penta­dien­yl)zirconium(IV)] hexane monosolvate

The title compound, [Zr2(C10H15)4(C6H6N2)2]·C6H14, was obtained by the stoichiometric reaction of adiponitrile with [Zr(C10H15)2(η2-Me3SiC2SiMe3)]. Intramolecular nitrile–nitrile couplings and deprotonation of the substrate produced the (1-imino-2-enimino)cyclopentane ligand, which functions as a five-membered bridge between the two metal atoms. The ZrIV atom exhibits a distorted tetrahedral coordination sphere defined by two pentamethylcyclopentadienyl ligands, by the imino unit of one (1-imino-2-enimino)cyclopentane and by the enimino unit of the second (1-imino-2-enimino)cyclopentane. The cyclopentane ring of the ligand shows an envelope conformation. The asymmetric unit contains one half of the complex and one half of the hexane solvent molecule, both being completed by the application of inversion symmetry. One of the pentamethylcyclopentadienyl ligands is disordered over two sets of sites with a refined occupancy ratio of 0.8111 (3):0.189 (3). In the crystal, the complex molecules are packed into rods extending along [100], with the solvent molecules located in between. The rods are arranged in a distorted hexagonal packing.

(Cyanido-κC)(2,2-di­phenyl­acetamido-κ2N,O)bis­(η5-penta­methyl­cyclo­penta­dien­yl)zirconium(IV)

In the title compound, [Zr(C10H15)2(C14H12NO)(CN)], the ZrIV atom is coordinated by two pentamethylcyclopentadienyl ligands, the amidate ligand via the N and O atoms, and an additional C N ligand. The four-membered metallacycle is nearly planar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.008 Å). In the crystal, the molecules are connected into centrosymmetric dimers via pairs of N—H⋯N hydrogen bonds.