Ethylene polymerization catalyzed by bridging Ni/Zn heterobimetallics.

The effect of proximal Zn halides on Ni-catalyzed ethylene polymerization is reported in this work. A series of (NON)NiLX (NON = 2,6-bis-((2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imino)methyl phenoxide; LX = methallyl or L = py, X = tolyl, 2-4) ethylene polymerization precatalysts have been synthesized, as well as a heterobimetallic Ni/Zn complex, (NON)Ni(C4H7)ZnBr2 (5). Each precatalyst could be activated (or promoted) by ZnX2 (X = Cl, Br, Et) to polymerize ethylene. In situ recruitment of ZnX2 by the free imine binding pocket of the NON complexes results in the generation of heterobimetallic active species that produce lower Mn polyethylene than monometallic controls. Room temperature ZnX2-promoted polymerizations with these catalysts resulted in bimodal Mn distributions that result from different catalyst speciation: "dangling" imine-ligated ZnX2 species yield higher Mn polymer while N,O-chelated ZnX2 species yield lower Mn polymer. Running polymerizations at higher temperature yields in only lower Mn polymer resulting from exclusive formation of the thermodynamically favored N,O chelated Ni/Zn heterobimetallic. DFT calculations indicate that this bridging bimetallic complex undergoes ß-H elimination more facilely than monometallic Ni analogues, resulting in lower molecular weight polymers.

Catalytic formal [2+2+1] synthesis of pyrroles from alkynes and diazenes via Ti(II)/Ti(IV) redox catalysis.

Pyrroles are structurally important heterocycles. However, the synthesis of polysubstituted pyrroles is often challenging. Here, we report a multicomponent, Ti-catalysed formal [2+2+1] reaction of alkynes and diazenes for the oxidative synthesis of penta- and trisubstituted pyrroles: a nitrenoid analogue to classical Pauson-Khand-type syntheses of cyclopentenones. Given the scarcity of early transition-metal redox catalysis, preliminary mechanistic studies are presented. Initial stoichiometric and kinetic studies indicate that the mechanism of this reaction proceeds through a formally Ti(II)/Ti(IV) redox catalytic cycle, in which an azatitanacyclobutene intermediate, resulting from [2+2] alkyne + Ti imido coupling, undergoes a second alkyne insertion followed by reductive elimination to yield pyrrole and a Ti(II) species. The key component for catalytic turnover is the reoxidation of the Ti(II) species to a Ti(IV) imido via the disproportionation of an η(2)-diazene-Ti(II) complex.

Ethylene Polymerizations Using Parallel Pressure Reactors and a Kinetic Analysis of Chain Transfer Polymerization.

We demonstrate a method for high-throughput catalyst screening using a parallel pressure reactor starting from the initial synthesis of a nickel α-diimine ethylene polymerization catalyst. Initial polymerizations with the catalyst lead to optimized reaction conditions, including catalyst concentration, ethylene pressure and reaction time. Using gas-uptake data for these reactions, a procedure to calculate the initial rate of propagation (kp) is presented. Using the optimized conditions, the ability of the nickel α-diimine polymerization catalyst to undergo chain transfer with diethylzinc (ZnEt2) during ethylene polymerization was investigated. A procedure to assess the ability of the catalyst to undergo chain transfer (from molecular weight and 13C NMR data), calculate the degree of chain transfer, and calculate chain transfer rates (ke) is presented.

Zinc oxide nanocrystal quenching of emission from electron-rich ruthenium-bipyridine complexes.

A series of heteroleptic bipyridine ruthenium complexes were prepared using known synthetic methods. Each compound incorporated one electron withdrawing 4,4'-dicarboxylic acid-2,2'-bipyridine and two bipyridines each of which had electron donating dialkylamine substituents in the 4 and 4' positions. The electronic absorption spectra exhibited absorptions that moved to lower energy as the donor ability of the amine substituent increased. Density functional calculations established that the HOMO was delocalized over the metal and two pyridine groups located trans to the pyridines of the dicarboxylic acid bipyridine. The LUMO was delocalized over the dicarboxylic acid bipyridine. Cyclic voltammetry of the deprotonated compounds exhibit one quasi-reversible oxidation and three reductions. Coupled with the emission data, the excited state reduction potentials were estimated to range from -0.93 to -1.03 V vs. NHE. Monodispersed 3.2 nm diameter nanocrystals (NCs) of zinc oxide were found to quench partially the excited state of the dyes via a static quenching electron transfer process involving the formation of a dyad of the complex and the NC. The magnitude of the partial quenching of complexed dyes was correlated to the distribution of band gaps for the NCs, which is an inverse function of diameter. Dyes attached to the NCs on the small end of the particle size distribution had electron transfer rates that were uncompetitive with radiative and nonradiative decay mechanisms.

Combined plasma gas-phase synthesis and colloidal processing of InP/ZnS core/shell nanocrystals.

Indium phosphide nanocrystals (InP NCs) with diameters ranging from 2 to 5 nm were synthesized with a scalable, flow-through, nonthermal plasma process at a rate ranging from 10 to 40 mg/h. The NC size is controlled through the plasma operating parameters, with the residence time of the gas in the plasma region strongly influencing the NC size. The NC size distribution is narrow with the standard deviation being less than 20% of the mean NC size. Zinc sulfide (ZnS) shells were grown around the plasma-synthesized InP NCs in a liquid phase reaction. Photoluminescence with quantum yields as high as 15% were observed for the InP/ZnS core-shell NCs.