Bidentate salicylaldiminato tin(II) complexes and their use as lactide polymerisation initiators.

A study of the reactions of several salicylaldimines (ortho-iminophenols) with Sn(NMe2)2 reveals that the sterics and electronics of the N-substituent play a principal role in determining the product mixture. Thus mono(chelate) tin(II) amides have only been isolated with bulky N-anilido substituents, including [2,4-X2-6-{CHN-2,6-iPr2C6H3}-C6H2O]Sn(-NMe2)]2, X = Cl, 1; X = I, 2 and [2,4-Cl2-6-{CHN-2,4,6-tBu3C6H2}-C6H2O]Sn(NMe2), 3. With smaller N-aryl and N-alkyl substituted salicylaldimines, mixtures of mono- and bis- chelate complexes are formed, even if the phenoxide ring bears large tert-butyl substituents. Further, when the anilido group bears electron-withdrawing substituents, the imino carbon is activated towards nucleophilic attack (as demonstrated by the formation of [2,4-tBu2-6-{CH(NMe2)N-2,4,6-Br3C6H2}-C6H2O]Sn, 4); no such reactivity has been observed when the halo substituents are located on the phenolic ring. The abilities of complexes 1-4 to initiate the ring-opening polymerisation of rac-lactide have also been studied. Complexes 1, 2 and 4 possess comparitively similar activities, but propagation with 3 is at least one order of magnitude slower, an observation rationalised in terms of steric congestion.

The reversible amination of tin(II)-ligated imines: latent initiators for the polymerization of rac-lactide.

The 1:1 reactions of nine potentially tridentate salicylaldimines with tin(II) diamides, Sn(NR2)2 (R = Me, Et, iPr, SiMe3) have been investigated. With Sn(NiPr2)2 and Sn(NTMS2)2, the anticipated products of amine elimination, iminophenoxy tin(II) mono(amide)s, are formed. However, for R = Me and R = Et, nucleophilic attack of the amide at the imino carbon occurs to generate tin(II) complexes of tetradentate, dianionic aminoamidophenoxide ligands. The transfer of the amide is shown to be reversible, with both alcoholysis and the initiation of rac-lactide polymerization apparently mediated by the terminal amide tautomer.

Mono- versus bis-chelate formation in triazenide and amidinate complexes of magnesium and zinc.

Magnesium and zinc complexes of the monoanionic ligands N,N'-bis(2,6-di-isopropylphenyl)triazenide, L1, N,N'-bis(2,6-di-isopropylphenyl)acetamidinate, L2, and N,N'-bis(2,6-di-isopropylphenyl)tert-butylamidinate, L3, have been synthesized, but only L3 possesses sufficient steric bulk to prevent bis-chelation. Hence, the reaction of L1H with excess ZnEt2 leads to the isolation of (L1)2Zn, 1; L1H also reacts with Bu2Mg in Et2O to afford (L1)2Mg(Et2O), 2. Similar reactivity is observed for L2H, leading to the formation of (L2)2Zn, 3, and (L2)2Mg, 4. The reaction of L2H with ZnR2 may also afford the tetranuclear aggregates {(L2)Zn2R2}2O, 5 (R=Me) and 6 (R=Et). By contrast, the tert-butylamidinate ligand was found to exclusively promote mono-chelation, allowing (L3)ZnCl(THF), 7, [(L3)Zn(micro-Cl)]2, 8, (L3)ZnN(SiMe3)2, 9, (L3)MgiPr(Et2O), 10, and (L3)MgiPr(THF), 11, to be isolated. X-ray crystallographic analyses of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 10 indicate that the capacity of L3 to resist bis-chelation is due to greater occupation of the metal coordination sphere by the N-aryl substituents.

Tert-butylamidinate tin(ii) complexes: high activity, single-site initiators for the controlled production of polylactide.

The tin(ii) coordination chemistry of two monoanionic N,N'-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)alkylamidinate ligands is described. Complexation studies with the acetamidinate, [MeC(NAr)(2)](-), (Ar = 2,6-(i)Pr(2)C(6)H(3)) are complicated by the side formation of the bis(amidinate) tin(ii) compound, [MeC(NAr)(2)](2)Sn. By contrast, the bulkier tert-butylamidinate, [(t)BuC(NAr)(2)](-), allows tin(ii) mono-halide, -alkoxide and -amide complexes to be isolated cleanly in high yields. Thus, the reaction of [(t)BuC(NAr)(2)]H with (n)BuLi and subsequent treatment with SnCl(2) generates [(t)BuC(NAr)(2)]SnCl, in ca. 70% yield. Reactions of with LiO(i)Pr, LiNMe(2) and LiNTMS(2) afford [(t)BuC(NAr)(2)]Sn(O(i)Pr), [(t)BuC(NAr)(2)]Sn(NMe(2)), and [(t)BuC(NAr)(2)]Sn(NTMS(2)), respectively. The molecular structures of complexes are reported. Complexes, and have been investigated as initiators for the ring-opening polymerisation of rac-lactide: and display characteristics of well-controlled polymerisation initiators, but high molecular weight polymer is observed with due to inefficient initiation, a consequence of the steric bulk of the NTMS(2) unit. Polymerisations with and are faster than for the corresponding beta-diketiminate tin(ii) complexes, consistent with the more open nature of the tin(ii) coordination sphere.

Coordination complexes bearing potentially tetradentate phenoxyamine ligands.

A series of metal complexes containing potentially tetradentate phenoxyamine ligands is described. The ligands are found to bind to main-group metals and first-row transition-metal centres with variable denticity depending upon the requirements of the particular metal centre. Bidentate [Al(III)], tridentate [Mg(II), Ca(II), Zn(II)] and tetradentate [K(I), Cr(III), Fe(II), Co(II)] binding modes have been established unambiguously through single-crystal X-ray structure determinations.

Study of ligand substituent effects on the rate and stereoselectivity of lactide polymerization using aluminum salen-type initiators.

A series of aluminum salen-type complexes [where salen is N,N'-bis(salicylaldimine)-1,2-ethylenediamine] bearing ligands that differ in their steric and electronic properties have been synthesized and investigated for the polymerization of rac-lactide. X-ray crystal structures on key precatalysts reveal metal coordination geometries intermediate between trigonal bipyramidal and square-based pyramidal. Both the phenoxy substituents and the backbone linker have a significant influence over the polymerization. Electron-withdrawing groups attached to the phenoxy donor generally gave an increased polymerization rate, whereas large ortho substituents generally slowed down the polymerization. The vast majority of the initiators afforded polylactide with an isotactic bias; only one exhibited a bias toward heteroselectivity. Isoselectivity generally increases with increased flexibility of the backbone linker, which is presumed to be better able to accommodate any potential steric clashes between the propagating polymer chain, the inserting monomer unit, and the substituents on the phenoxy donor.

Synthetic, structural, mechanistic, and computational studies on single-site beta-diketiminate tin(II) initiators for the polymerization of rac-lactide.

A family of tin(II) complexes supported by beta-diketiminate ligands has been investigated as initiators for the polymerization of rac-lactide. Kinetic studies reveal a first-order dependence on [lactide], but with a significant induction period. Linear plots of M(n) versus conversion and [M](o)/[I](o) versus conversion, along with narrow molecular weight distributions (typically 1.07-1.10), are indicative of well-controlled, "living" polymerizations. Less sterically hindered derivatives promote faster propagation than their bulky analogues, in accord with a more accessible active site. Enhanced rates of polymerization are observed for ligands bearing halogenated N-aryl substituents, a consequence of the more Lewis acidic nature of the Sn(II) centers. All of the initiators exhibit a similar bias toward heterotactic polylactide, which is attributed to a chain-end control mechanism influenced predominantly by the presence of the Sn 5s(2) lone pair of electrons rather than the steric or electronic properties of the beta-diketiminate ligand. The tin(II) isopropyl-(S)-lactate complex, ((Me)BDI(DIPP))SnOCH(Me)COO(i)Pr (14), has been synthesized as a model compound for the propagating species by treatment of ((Me)BDI(DIPP))Sn(NMe(2)) with isopropyl-(S)-lactate. An X-ray structure determination showed that the lactate ligand forms a five-membered chelate ring with a weak donor bond from the carbonyl oxygen atom to the tin center. A B3LYP density functional computational study indicates that insertion of the first lactide monomer into the tin(II) alkoxide bond is facile, with the induction period arising from a slower insertion of the second (and possibly third and fourth) monomer units.

Redox control within single-site polymerization catalysts.

The activity of a single-site titanium-based lactide polymerization initiator supported by a ferrocenyl-derivatized salen ligand is shown to be modulated by a chemical redox switch; a substantially higher rate of propagation is found for the neutral catalyst compared to its oxidized dicationic ferrocenium counterpart.

Titanium-salen complexes as initiators for the ring opening polymerisation of rac-lactide.

A family of bis(iso-propoxide) titanium(IV) complexes supported by tetradentate Schiff base (salen) ligands has been synthesised and characterised, including a structural determination of N,N'-bis(6'-methylenimino-2',4'-di-tert-butylphenoxy)cyclohexyl-(1R,2R)-diamino titanium(IV) bis(iso-propoxide). Their suitability for initiating the ring-opening polymerisation of rac-lactide has been investigated. Polymerisation activities are shown to correlate with the electronic properties of the substituents within the salen ligand. In contrast to aluminium-salen initiators, electron-withdrawing substituents on the Schiff base ligand have a detrimental influence upon polymerisation activities, whereas the use of electron-donating alkoxy-functionalized ligands has allowed the highest recorded activity to date for a titanium-based initiator.

A computational analysis of the ring-opening polymerization of rac-lactide initiated by single-site beta-diketiminate metal complexes: defining the mechanistic pathway and the origin of stereocontrol.

The ring-opening polymerization of rac-lactide at a beta-diketiminate magnesium center, [HC{CMeN-2,6-(i)Pr(2)C(6)H(3)}(2)]Mg(OMe)(THF), has been investigated using a B3-LYP density functional procedure employing three different layers of basis set: 6-311G(3d) at the Mg center, 6-31G(d) for both the ligand skeleton and the monomer, and a STO-3G basis set at the bulky 2,6-diisopropylphenyl substituents. By studying the consecutive ring-opening of two lactide molecules, clear conclusions are drawn regarding both the mechanism of ring-opening and the origin of heterotactic stereocontrol observed with such initiators. Polymerization proceeds via two major transition states, an observation applicable to other coordinative initiator systems, with the highest energy transition state dictating the stereochemistry of monomer insertion. In the beta-diketiminate magnesium system, a detailed examination of the rate-limiting second transition state geometries reveals that heterotactic poly(lactic acid) arises via the minimization of several steric interactions, possibly reinforced by an attractive CH...pi interaction.

Unprecedented reversible migration of amide to schiff base ligands attached to tin: latent single-site initiators for lactide polymerization.

In an unprecedented transformation, amide ligands are found to attack the imine carbon centers of tridentate Schiff base ligands attached to tin. The process is reversible, and the resultant (masked) amide species can be exploited as latent single-site initiators for the controlled polymerization of rac-lactide.

Magnesium and zinc complexes of a potentially tridentate beta-diketiminate ligand.

The synthesis of the unsymmetrically substituted beta-diketimine, 2-(2-methoxyphenylimino)-4-(2,6-diisopropylphenylamido)pent-2-ene, (BDI-2)H, is described and its complexation chemistry with magnesium and zinc is explored. Emphasis is placed on the preparation of alkoxide and amide derivatives for the ring-opening polymerisation of lactide; their behaviour as polymerisation initiators is compared to analogous compounds supported by the N,N'-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl) beta-diketiminate ligand, BDI-1. (BDI-2)H reacts with Me2Mg to give the bis(chelate) complex, (BDI-2)2Mg, 3. Magnesium alkyls supported by BDI-2 may be prepared by increasing the size of the alkyl group. Hence, lithiation of (BDI-2)H affords [(BDI-2)Li]2, 4; its subsequent treatment with iPrMgCl produces (BDI-2)MgiPr, 5. Aminolysis of complex using iPr2NH yields the amide complex, (BDI-2)MgNiPr2, 6. Zn(NTMS2)2 and ZnEt2 react with (BDI-2)H to give (BDI-2)Zn(NTMS2), 7, and (BDI-2)ZnEt, 8, respectively. The former is converted into the siloxide complex, (BDI-2)Zn(OSiPh3), 9, upon reaction with Ph3SiOH. The chloride derivative, (BDI-2)ZnCl, 10, has also been prepared via the reaction of ZnCl2 with 4. Crystallographic analysis of compounds, and reveals that the potential for (BDI-2) to bind in a tridentate manner is only realised with the more electrophilic metals Li and Mg. Compared to their (BDI-1) counterparts, complexes 6, 7 and 9 are more active, but less well-controlled, initiators for the ring-opening polymerisation of rac-lactide, a consequence of the diminished steric protection afforded by (BDI-2) relative to (BDI-1).

Remarkable stereocontrol in the polymerization of racemic lactide using aluminum initiators supported by tetradentate aminophenoxide ligands.

A new family of aluminum complexes bearing tetradentate bis(aminophenoxide) ligands is reported and shown to initiate the living ring-opening polymerization of rac-lactide. The microstructures of the polylactide products are found to be highly dependent upon the ancillary ligand substituents, ranging from highly isotactic (Pm = 0.79) to very highly heterotactic (Pr = 0.96).

A well-defined magnesium enolate initiator for the living and highly syndioselective polymerisation of methylmethacrylate.

The reaction of (BDI)MgiPr [BDI = HC(C(Me)=N-2,6-iPr2C6H3)2] with 2',4',6'-trimethylacetophenone in toluene affords the enolate complex [(BDI)Mg(mu-OC(=CH2)-2,4,6-Me3C6H2)]2 which is found to be an excellent initiator for the living, syndioselective (sigma r > 0.95) polymerisation of methyl methacrylate.