Complexes of titanium and zirconium containing a tridentate linked amido–cyclopentadienyl ligand with a soft donor group: synthesis, structure, and ethylene polymerization catalysis

Abstract Group 4 metal complexes M(η5:η1-C5R4SiMe2NCH2CH2SMe)Cl2 (R=H, M=Ti; R=Me, M=Ti, Zr) containing the thioether-functionalized linked amido–cyclopentadienyl ligand were synthesized and characterized by 1H- and 13C-NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis. The crystal structures of the complexes Ti(η5:η1-C5H4SiMe2NCH2CH2SMe)Cl2 and Zr(η5:η1:η1-C5Me4SiMe2NCH2CH2SMe)Cl2 were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies. The titanium complex is a conventional three-legged piano-stool molecule without an intramolecular interaction between the sulfur donor group and the titanium center, whereas the zirconium complex adopts a trigonal bipyramidal structure, with …