The preparation of 2-iminoimidazolines - has been accomplished by the Staudinger reaction of the carbenes 1,3-di-tert-butylimidazolin-2-ylidene (), 1,3-diisopropyl-4,5-dimethylimidazolin-2-ylidene (), 1,3-diisopropylimidazolin-2-ylidene (), 1,3-bis(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)imidazolin-2-ylidene (), 1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenylimidazolin-2-ylidene () and 1,3,4,5-tetramethylimidazolin-2-ylidene () with trimethylsilyl azide (Me3SiN3) followed by desilylation of the resulting 2-trimethylsilyliminoimidazolines -. The X-ray crystal structures of and have been established, revealing C1-N1-Si1 angles that are more obtuse than the corresponding P-N-Si angles observed in related trimethylsilyl iminophosphoranes. Together with , the disilylated side product 1,3-diisopropyl-2-(trimethylsilylimino)-4-trimethylsilylimidazoline () has been isolated and structurally characterized. Cleavage of the N-Si bonds in and formation of is easily achieved by stirring in methanol. The molecular structures of the 2-iminoimidazolines are reported, indicating that the structural parameters are best described by non-ylidic resonance structures and that electron delocalization within the imidazole heterocycle does not play a crucial role in these imine systems. Compound forms a head-to-head dimer in the solid state via weak intermolecular N-H...N contacts, which have additionally been characterized by means of compliance constants. To further analyze the electronic structure of these imines in comparison to related guanidine ligands, the proton affinities (PAs) of the model compounds 2-imino-1,3-dimethylimidazoline (), 2-imino-1,3-dimethylimidazolidine () and tetramethylguanidine () have been calculated by means of density functional theory. Finally, the charge distribution in - and the relative contribution of relevant resonance structures have been determined using natural bond orbitals (NBO) and natural resonance theory (NRT).

The reaction of 1,3-di-tert-butylimidazolin-2-ylidene with trimethylsilyl azide furnishes the corresponding N-silylated 2-iminoimidazoline which reacts with titanium(IV) chlorides to yield imidazolin-2-iminato titanium complexes.

The Staudinger reaction of the imidazolin-2-ylidenes, 1,3-di-tert-butylimidazolin-2-ylidene (1a), 1,3-diisopropylimidazolin-2-ylidene (1b), 1,3-diisopropyl-4,5-dimethylimidazolin-2-ylidene (1c), 1,3-bis(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)imidazolin-2-ylidene (1d) and 1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenylimidazolin-2-ylidene (1e), with trimethylsilyl azide furnishes the corresponding N-silylated 2-iminoimidazolines 2a-e, which react with [(eta-C5H5)TiCl3] to afford half-sandwich cyclopentadienyl titanium complexes of the type [CpTi(L)Cl2] (3) (L = imidazolin-2-iminato ligand). Similarly, the reactions of 1,3-di-tert-butyl-2-(trimethylsilylimino)imidazoline (2a) with [(eta-tBuC5H4)TiCl3] results in the formation of [(eta-tBuC5H4)Ti(L)Cl2] (4) (L = 1,3-di-tert-butylimidazolin-2-imide). Bis(1,3-di-tert-butylimidazolin-2-iminato)titanium dichloride (5) is obtained from the reaction of two eq. of 2a with TiCl4. Treatment of 5 with methyllithium results in the formation of the corresponding dimethyl complex [L2Ti(CH3)2] (6), whereas [CpTi(L)(CH3)2] (7) is similarly obtained from 3a. The molecular structures of 3a, 3b, 3c, 3e x C7H8, 4 and 7 are reported revealing linearly coordinated imidazolin-2-iminato ligands together with very short Ti-N bond distances. All dichloro complexes (3a-e, 4 and 5) can be activated with methylaluminoxane (MAO) to give active catalysts for ethylene homopolymerization. In most cases, moderate to high activities are observed together with the formation of high (HMWPE) or even ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE).

The reactions of 1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazolin-2-imine (Im(Dipp)NH, 1-H) with trimethylsilylmethyl lithium (LiCH(2)SiMe(3)) and anhydrous rare earth metal trichlorides MCl(3) afforded the imidazolin-2-iminato complexes [(1)MCl(2)(THF)(3)] (2a, M = Sc; 2b, M = Y; 2c, M = Lu) and [(1)GdCl(2)(THF)(2)] x [LiCl(THF)(2)] (2d). Treatment of complexes 2 with dipotassium cyclooctatetradienide, K(2)(C(8)H(8)) resulted in the formation of two- or three-legged piano-stool complexes of the type [(eta(8)-C(8)H(8))M(1)(THF)(n)] (3a, M = Sc, n = 1; 3b, M = Y, n = 2; 3c, M = Lu, n = 2; 3d, M = Gd, n = 2). X-ray diffraction analyses of all eight complexes 2 and 3 revealed the presence of very short metal-nitrogen bonds, which are among the shortest ever observed for these elements. [(eta(8)-C(8)H(8))Sc(1)(THF)] (3a) reacted with 2,6-dimethylphenyl isothiocyanate (Xy-NCS) to form the [2 + 2]-cycloaddition product 4, which contains a thioureato-N,N' moiety. The related COT-titanium complex [(eta(8)-C(8)H(8))TiCl(1)] (6) could be obtained from [(1)TiCl(3)] (5) by reaction with K(2)(C(8)H(8)) and was structurally characterized. As a theoretical analysis of the nature of the metal-nitrogen bond, density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been carried out for complexes 3a and 6 and also for the model complexes [(eta(8)-C(8)H(8))Sc(NIm(Me))] (7), [(eta(8)-C(8)H(8))Ti(NIm(Me))](+) (8), and [(eta(8)-C(8)H(8))Ti(NXy)] (9), revealing a marked similarity of the bonding in imidazolin-2-iminato and conventional imido metal complexes.

Octahedral group 4 bisphenolate ether complexes, activated by methylaluminoxane, are highly active and stereospecific alpha-olefin polymerization catalysts. X-ray crystallographic analysis reveals the Zr and Hf complexes to be closely isostructural; the bond lengths of the Hf complex are slightly shorter, but the maximum deviation is only 0.062 A. Despite the structural similarity of the Hf and Zr complexes, the Hf complexes generate more highly stereoselective catalysts. In addition to the influence of the transition metal, the structure of the ligand has a large influence on the stereospecificity. Bis-tert-butyl phenyl substituted complexes of Hf and Zr, when activated by MAO at 50-80 degrees C, generate high molecular weight polypropylene (M(n) = 130,000-360,000 g/mol) with isotacticities [mmmm] > 97% and melting points as high as 165 degrees C.