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A series of dimeric aluminum compounds [Al(OCMe2CH2N(R)CH2X)]2 [X=pyridin‐2‐yl, R=H (PyrH); X= pyridin‐2‐yl, R=Me (PyrMe); X=furan‐2‐yl, R=H (FurH); X= furan‐2‐yl, R=Me (FurMe); X=thiophen‐2‐yl, R=H (ThioH); X= thiophen‐2‐yl, R=Me (ThioMe)] containing heterocyclic pendant group attached to the nitrogen catalyze the coupling of CO2 with epoxides under ambient conditions. In a comparison of their catalytic activities with those of aluminum complexes without pendant groups at N [X=H, R=H (HH); X=H, R=Me (HMe)] or with non‐heterocyclic pendant groups [X=CH2CH2OMe, R=H (OMeH); X=CH2CH2NMe2, R=H (NMe2H); X=CH2CH2NMe2, R=Me (NMe2Me)], complexes containing heterocycles, in conjunction with (nBu)4NBr as a cocatalyst, show higher catalytic activities for the synthesis of cyclic carbonates under the same ambient conditions. The best catalyst system for this reaction is PyrH/(nBu)4NBr system, which gives a turnover number of 99 and a turnover frequency of 4.1 h−1, making it 14‐ and 20‐times more effective than HH/(nBu)4NBr and HMe/(nBu)4NBr, respectively. Although there are no direct interactions between the aluminum and the heteroatoms in the heterocyclic pendants, electronic effects combined with the increased local concentration of CO2 around the active centers influences the catalytic activity in the coupling of CO2 with epoxides. In addition, PyrH/(nBu)4NBr shows broad epoxide substrate scope and seven terminal epoxides and two internal epoxides undergo the designed reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six zirconocene derivatives were systematically designed; one of the cyclopentadienyl (Cp) ligands of zirconocene dichloride [Cp2ZrCl2] was silylated and this group was then incrementally increased in size; furthermore, one derivative with a 4,4′-disilylbiphenyl bridge between the two zirconocene fragments was prepared. One zirconium complex was characterized by single-crystal X-ray analysis. All zirconium complexes were effective catalysts for the cycloaddition of CO2 to propylene oxide. Two complexes containing a biphenyl group attached to a SiMe2 group showed higher activity than the other complexes. In addition, the dinuclear complex containing the biphenylenebis(dimethylsilyl) bridge showed the highest activity among all the zirconium complexes reported. Furthermore, these complexes are the first examples of zirconocene catalytic systems for the cycloaddition reaction of CO2 to propylene oxide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]