Organohafnium chemistry
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Organozirconium chemistry is the science of exploring the properties, structure, and reactivity of organozirconium compounds, which are organometallic compounds containing chemical bonds between carbon and zirconium. Organozirconium compounds have been widely studied, in part because they are useful catalysts in Ziegler-Natta polymerization.


Comparison with organotitanium chemistry

Many organozirconium compounds have analogues on
organotitanium chemistry Organotitanium chemistry is the science of organotitanium compounds describing their physical properties, synthesis, and reactions. Organotitanium compounds in organometallic chemistry contain carbon-titanium chemical bonds. They are reagents in or ...
. Zirconium(IV) is more resistant to reduction than titanium(IV) compounds, which often convert to Ti(III) derivatives. By the same token, Zr(II) is a particularly powerful reducing agent, forming robust dinitrogen complexes. Being a larger atom, zirconium forms complexes with higher coordination numbers, e.g. polymeric pZrCl3sub>n vs monomeric CpTiCl3 (Cp = C5H5).


History

Zirconocene dibromide was prepared in 1953 by a reaction of the
cyclopentadienyl Cyclopentadienyl can refer to *Cyclopentadienyl anion, or cyclopentadienide, **Cyclopentadienyl ligand *Cyclopentadienyl radical, • *Cyclopentadienyl cation, See also *Pentadienyl In organic chemistry, pentadienyl refers to the organic radic ...
magnesium bromide and
zirconium(IV) chloride Zirconium(IV) chloride, also known as zirconium tetrachloride, () is an inorganic compound frequently used as a precursor to other compounds of zirconium. This white high-melting solid hydrolyzes rapidly in humid air. Structure Unlike molecular T ...
. In 1966, the dihydride Cp2ZrH2 was obtained by the reaction of Cp2Zr(BH4)2 with triethylamine. In 1970, the related hydrochloride (now called
Schwartz's reagent Schwartz's reagent is the common name for the organozirconium compound with the formula (C5H5)2ZrHCl, sometimes called zirconocene hydrochloride or zirconocene chloride hydride, and is named after Jeffrey Schwartz, a chemistry professor at Prince ...
) was obtained by reduction of
zirconacene dichloride Zirconocene dichloride is an organozirconium compound composed of a zirconium central atom, with two cyclopentadienyl and two chloro ligands. It is a colourless diamagnetic solid that is somewhat stable in air. Preparation and structure Zircono ...
(Cp2ZrCl2) with
lithium aluminium hydride Lithium aluminium hydride, commonly abbreviated to LAH, is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula Li Al H4. It is a white solid, discovered by Finholt, Bond and Schlesinger in 1947. This compound is used as a reducing agent in organic ...
(or the related LiAlH(t-BuO)3). The development of organozirconium reagents was recognized by a Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Ei-Ichi Negishi.


Zirconocene chemistry

The foremost applications of zirconocenes involve their use as catalysts for olefin polymerization.
Schwartz's reagent Schwartz's reagent is the common name for the organozirconium compound with the formula (C5H5)2ZrHCl, sometimes called zirconocene hydrochloride or zirconocene chloride hydride, and is named after Jeffrey Schwartz, a chemistry professor at Prince ...
( p2ZrHClsub>2) participates in hydrozirconation, which enjoys some use in
organic synthesis Organic synthesis is a special branch of chemical synthesis and is concerned with the intentional construction of organic compounds. Organic molecules are often more complex than inorganic compounds, and their synthesis has developed into one o ...
. Substrates for
hydrozirconation Schwartz's reagent is the common name for the organozirconium compound with the empirical formula, formula (C5H5)2ZrHCl, sometimes called zirconocene hydrochloride or zirconocene chloride hydride, and is named after Jeffrey Schwartz, a chemistry pr ...
are alkenes and
alkyne \ce \ce Acetylene \ce \ce \ce Propyne \ce \ce \ce \ce 1-Butyne In organic chemistry, an alkyne is an unsaturated hydrocarbon containing at least one carbon—carbon triple bond. The simplest acyclic alkynes with only one triple bond and n ...
s. Terminal alkynes give vinyl complexes. Secondary reactions are
nucleophilic addition In organic chemistry, a nucleophilic addition reaction is an addition reaction where a chemical compound with an electrophilic double or triple bond reacts with a nucleophile, such that the double or triple bond is broken. Nucleophilic additions di ...
s,
transmetalation Transmetalation (alt. spelling: transmetallation) is a type of organometallic reaction that involves the transfer of ligands from one metal to another. It has the general form: :M1–R + M2–R′ → M1–R′ + M2–R where R and R′ can be, but ...
s, conjugate additions, coupling reactions, carbonylation, and
halogenation In chemistry, halogenation is a chemical reaction that entails the introduction of one or more halogens into a compound. Halide-containing compounds are pervasive, making this type of transformation important, e.g. in the production of polymers, ...
. Extensive chemistry has also been demonstrated from decamethylzirconocene dichloride, Cp*2ZrCl2. Well-studied derivatives include Cp*2ZrH2, p*2Zrsub>2(N2)3, Cp*2Zr(CO)2, and Cp*2Zr(CH3)2. Zirconocene dichloride can be used to cyclise enynes and dienes to give cyclic or bicyclic aliphatic systems. :


Alkyl and CO complexes

The simplest organozirconium compounds are the homoleptic alkyls. Salts of r(CH3)6sup>2- are known. Tetrabenzylzirconium is a precursor to many catalysts for olefin polymerization. It can be converted to mixed alkyl, alkoxy, and halide derivatives, Zr(CH2C6H5)3X (X = CH3, OC2H5, Cl). In addition to mixed Cp2Zr(CO)2, zirconium forms the binary carbonyl r(CO)6sup>2-.


Organohafnium chemistry

Organohafnium compounds behave nearly identically to organozirconium compounds, as hafnium is just below zirconium on the periodic table. Many Hf analogues of Zr compounds are known, including bis(cyclopentadienyl)hafnium(IV) dichloride, bis(cyclopentadienyl)hafnium(IV) dihydride, and dimethylbis(cyclopentadienyl)hafnium(IV). Cationic hafnocene complexes,
post-metallocene catalyst A post-metallocene catalyst is a kind of catalyst for the polymerization of olefins, i.e., the industrial production of some of the most common plastics. "Post-metallocene" refers to a class of homogeneous catalysts that are not metallocenes. This ...
s, are used on an industrial scale for the polymerization of alkenes.


Additional reading

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References

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