Synthesis and ethylene trimerisation capability of new chromium(II) and chromium(III) heteroscorpionate complexes.

Reaction of (Me(2)pz)(2)CHSiMe(2)N(H)R (R = (i)Pr or Ph) or (Me(2)pz)(2)CHSiMe(2)NMe(2) with CrCl(3)(THF)(3) or CrCl(2)(THF)(2) gave Cr{(Me(2)pz)(2)CHSiMe(2)NR(1)R(2)}Cl(3) (R(1) = H, R(2) = (i)Pr (10) or Ph (11); R(1) = R(2) = Me (15)) or Cr{(Me(2)pz)(2)CHSiMe(2)NR(1)R(2)}Cl(2)(THF) (R(1) = H, R(2) = (i)Pr (12) or Ph (13); R(1) = R(2) = Me (16)), respectively. Compounds 10 and 11 were crystallographically characterized and the magnetic behaviour of all the new compounds was evaluated using SQUID magnetometry. Reaction of CrCl(3)(THF)(3) with Li{C(Me(2)pz)(3)}(THF) gave the zwitterionic complex Cr{C(Me(2)pz)(3)}Cl(2)(THF) (17) containing an apical carbanion.

Dicationic and zwitterionic catalysts for the amine-initiated, immortal ring-opening polymerisation of rac-lactide: facile synthesis of amine-terminated, highly heterotactic PLA.

Dicationic, zwitterionic and "conventional" yttrium compounds act as catalysts for the primary or secondary amine-initiated immortal ROP of rac-lactide; amine-terminated, highly heterotactic poly(rac-lactides) with narrow polydispersities and well-controlled molecular weights are prepared in this manner.

Incorporation of isosorbide into poly(butylene terephthalate) via solid-state polymerization.

The biomass-based monomer isosorbide was incorporated into poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) by solid-state polymerization (SSP) using the macrodiol monomer BTITB-(OH) 2, which consists of isosorbide (I), terephthalic acid (T), and 1,4-butandiol (B) residues. This macromonomer can be synthesized by a simple one-pot, two-step reaction. Polymers with number-average molecular weights up to 100,000 g x mol (-1) were readily synthesized from various ratios of PBT/BTITB-(OH) 2.

Zwitterionic bis(phenolate)amine lanthanide complexes for the ring-opening polymerisation of cyclic esters.

The reaction of Sm{N(SiMe3)2}3 with the bis(phenol)amines H2O2N(R) (H2O2N(R) = RCH2CH2N(2-HO-3,5-C6H2(t)Bu2)2; R = OMe, NMe2 or Me) gave exclusively zwitterions Sm(O2N(R))(HO2N(R)). For R = OMe or NMe2 these were efficient catalysts for the ring-opening polymerisation of epsilon-caprolactone and D,L-lactide with a tendency to form cyclic esters; in contrast, no polymerisation was observed for R = Me.

Enhancing the functionality of biobased polyester coating resins through modification with citric acid.

Citric acid (CA) was evaluated as a functionality-enhancing monomer in biobased polyesters suitable for coating applications. Model reactions of CA with several primary and secondary alcohols and diols, including the 1,4:3,6-dianhydrohexitols, revealed that titanium(IV) n-butoxide catalyzed esterification reactions involving these compounds proceed at relatively low temperatures, often via anhydride intermediates. Interestingly, the facile anhydride formation from CA at temperatures around CA's melting temperature ( T m = 153 degrees C) proved to be crucial in modifying sterically hindered secondary hydroxyl end groups.

Polyamide synthesis from 6-aminocapronitrile, part 2: heterogeneously catalyzed nitrile hydrolysis with consecutive amine amidation.

To test the potential of heterogeneous catalysts for the nylon-6 synthesis from 6-aminocapronitrile, a number of zeolites, aluminum silicate, and metal oxides were tested as catalysts for the model reaction of pentanenitrile with water and hexylamine to N-hexylpentanamide. All zeolitic and aluminum silicate systems showed an insufficient performance, while the metal oxides (TiO(2), ZrO(2), Nb(2)O(5)) showed very promising results. The kinetic behavior of the metal oxides was further investigated.

Polyamide synthesis from 6-aminocapronitrile, part 1: N-alkyl amide formation by amine amidation of a hydrolyzed nitrile.

The synthesis of N-hexylpentanamide from a stoichiometric amount of pentanenitrile and hexylamine has been studied as a model reaction for the synthesis of nylon-6 from 6-aminocapronitrile. The reaction was carried out under mild hydrothermal conditions and in the presence of a homogeneous ruthenium catalyst. For the mild hydrothermal conditions the presence of hexylamine distinctively increases the nitrile hydrolysis compared to the nitrile hydrolysis in the absence of hexylamine.

Co- and terpolyesters based on isosorbide and succinic acid for coating applications: synthesis and characterization.

Co- and terpolyesters based on succinic acid and isosorbide in combination with other renewable monomers such as 2,3-butanediol, 1,3-propanediol, and citric acid were synthesized and characterized. Linear polyesters were obtained via melt polycondensation of nonactivated dicarboxylic acids with OH functional monomers. Polymer end functionality (i.

Topology characterization by MALDI-ToF-MS of enzymatically synthesized poly(lactide-co-glycolide).

Lipase catalyzed copolymerization of the monomers lactide and glycolide by Pseudomonas cepacia employing a molar ratio of 80L/20G has been studied. The copolymers were characterized by MALDI-ToF-MS, DSC, SEC and NMR. MALDI-ToF-MS has successfully been used not only to determine end groups and chemical composition but even the microstructure of the copolymers.

Role of the metal oxidation state in the SNS-Cr catalyst for ethylene trimerization: isolation of di- and trivalent cationic intermediates.

The reaction of the highly selective [CySCH2CH2N(H)CH2CH2SCy]CrCl3 catalyst precursor with alkyl aluminum activators was examined with the aim of isolating reactive intermediates. Reaction with Me3Al afforded a cationic trivalent chromium alkyl species {[CySCH2CH2N(H)CH2CH2SCy]CrMe(mu-Cl)}2{(AlMe3)2(m-Cl}2.(C7H8)2 (1a).

Synthesis and characterization of tin containing polyhedral oligometallasilsesquioxanes (POMSS).

Tin silicate species have shown good catalytic activity in various oxidation reactions. In an attempt to mimic surface tin species, several tin containing silsesquioxanes have been synthesized. Incompletely condensed silsesquioxanes (c-C5H9)7Si7O9(OH)3 and (c-C5H9)7Si7O9(OSiMe3)(OH)2 were reacted with common tin-precursors, which afforded several silsesquioxane ligated tin compounds.

Silsesquioxane models for silica surface silanol sites with adjacent siloxide functionalites and olefin polymerization catalysts thereof.

Incompletely condensed silsesquioxanes of the type R7Si7O9(O[SiR'2O]n)OH (R = c-C5H9, c-C6H11; R' = Me, Ph; n = 1-4), containing a siloxane ring of variable size and rigidity and a remaining silanol, are described. Compared with a truly isolated silanol [R7Si8O12(OH)], solution and solid state FT-IR spectra of these compounds show a nu(OH) shift of approximately 150 cm(-1) to lower frequency, which suggests hydrogen bonding of the silanol with the internal siloxane ring. In agreement with this, the relative ion pair acidities of the silanols in THF, determined by UV/Vis, were lowered by 0.

Silsesquioxane models for geminal silica surface silanol sites. A spectroscopic investigation of different types of silanols.

The incompletely condensed monosilylated silsesquioxanes (c-C5H9)7Si7O9(OSiRR'2)(OH)2 (SiRR'2 = SiMe3, SiMe2C(H)CH2, SiMePh2) were reacted with SiCl(4) in the presence of an amine which yielded the dichloro compounds (c-C5H9)7Si7O9(OSiRR'2)O2SiCl2 (1-3). These compounds could be hydrolyzed into the corresponding silsesquioxanes containing geminal silanols, (c-C5H9)7Si7O9(OSiRR'2)O2Si(OH)2 (4-6). At elevated temperatures, the geminal silsesquioxanes 4 and 5 undergo condensation reactions and form the closed-cage silsesquioxane monosilanol, (c-C5H9)7Si8O12(OH).