Salicylaldehyde compound containing an ammonium salt unit, [2-(HO)-3-tBu-5-{Bu3N+(CH2)3Si(Me2)}C6H2C(O)H][BF4 -], is prepared from which a Salen-type ligand and its cobalt(III) complex, (Salen-1)CoX (1:  Salen-1 = [trans-N,N‘-bis(3-tBu-5-(Bu3N+(CH2)3Si(Me2)-salicylidene)-1,2-cyclohexanediamine)]X2; X = 2,4-dinitrophenolate), is prepared. Complex 1 shows high activity for CO2/(propylene oxide) copolymerization even at a condition of high [propylene oxide]/[catalyst] ratio and high temperature up to 90 °C, at which conditions a typical binary system of [(Salen)CoX]/[PPNCl] does not yield any copolymer. A very high TOF (up to 3500 h-1) and TON (up to 14500) are achieved, which have never been attained with other catalytic systems. The high selectivity (>84%) for the formation of copolymer over cyclic carbonate and the high molecular weight of the obtained polymers (M n = 53000−95000) are the other merits of the catalyst.

Acyclic o-phenylene-bridged bis(anilido-aldimine) compounds, o-C(6)H(4){C(6)H(2)R(2)N=CH-C(6)H(4)-(H)N(C(6)H(3)R'(2))}(2) and related 30-membered macrocyclic compounds, o-C(6)H(4){C(6)H(2)R'(2)N=CH-C(6)H(4)-(H)N-C(6)H(2)R(2)}(2) (o-C(6)H(4)) are prepared. Successive additions of Me(2)Zn and SO(2) gas to the bis(anilido-aldimine) compounds afford quantitatively dinuclear mu-methylsulfinato zinc complexes, o-C(6)H(4){(C(6)H(2)R(2)N=CH-C(6)H(4)-N(C(6)H(3)R'(2))-kappa(2)-N,N)Zn(mu-OS(O)Me)}(2) (R = iPr and R' = iPr, 29; R = Et and R' = Et, 30; R = Me and R'= Me, 31; R = Me and R' = iPr, 32; R = Et and R' = Me, 33; R = Et and R' = iPr, 34; R = iPr and R' = Et, 35) and o-C(6)H(4){C(6)H(2)R'(2)N=CH-C(6)H(4)-N-C(6)H(2)R(2)-kappa(2)-N,N)Zn(mu-OS(O)Me)}(2) (o-C(6)H(4)) (R = Et and R'= Et, 36; R = Me and R' = Me, 37; R = iPr and R' = Me, 38; R = Et and R' = Me, 39; R = Me and R'= iPr, 40). Molecular structures of 34 and 40 are confirmed by X-ray crystallography. Complexes 30-35 show high activity for cyclohexene oxide/CO(2) copolymerization at low [Zn]/[monomer] ratio (1:5600), whereas the complex of mononucleating beta-diketiminate {[(C(6)H(3)Et(2))N=C(Me)CH=C(Me)N(C(6)H(3)Et(2))]Zn(mu-OS(O)Et)}(2) shows negligible activity in the same condition. Activity is sensitive to the N-aryl ortho substituents and the highest activity is observed with 32. Turnover number up to 2980 and molecular weight (M(n)) up to 284 000 are attained with 32 at such a highly diluted condition as [Zn]/[monomer] = 1:17 400. Macrocyclic complexes 36-40 show negligible activity for copolymerization.

Salen-type ligands comprised of ethylenediamine or 1,2-cyclohexenediamine, along with an salicylaldehyde bearing a methyl substituent on its 3-position and a -[CR(CH(2)CH(2)CH(2)N(+)Bu(3))(2)] (R = H or Me) on its 5-position, unexpectedly afford cobalt(III) complexes with uncoordinated imines. In these complexes, two salen-phenoxys and two 2,4-dinitrophenolates (DNPs), which counter the quaternary ammonium cations, coordinate persistently with cobalt, while two other DNPs are fluxional between a coordinated and an uncoordinated state in THF at room temperature. The complexes of this binding mode show excellent activities in carbon dioxide/propylene oxide copolymerization (TOF, 8300-13,000 h(-1)) but with some fluctuation in induction times (1-10 h), depending on how dry the system is. The induction time is shortened (<1.0 h) and activity is increased approximately 1.5 times upon the replacement of the two fluxional DNPs with 2,4-dinitrophenol-2,4-dinitrophenolate homoconjugation ([DNP...H...DNP](-)). Imposing steric congestion either by replacing the methyl substituent on the salicylaldehyde with tert-butyl or by employing H(2)NCMe(2)CMe(2)NH(2) instead of ethylenediamine or 1,2-cyclohexenediamine results in conventional imine-coordinating complexes, which show lower activities than uncoordinated imine complexes.

Terpolymerizations of CO 2 /propylene oxide (PO)/cyclohexene oxide (CHO), CO 2 /PO/1-hexene oxide (HO), and CO 2 /PO/1-butene oxide (BO) were carried out without the formation of cyclic carbonates and ether linkages with a cobalt(III) complex of a Salen-type ligand tethered by four quaternary ammonium salts (1). The activities were excellent, in the range of (0.62-1.6) Â 10 6 g/mol-Co (TOF, 4400-14 000 h -1 ). In all three of terpolymerizations, the data for the PO mole fractions in the feed (f PO ) and the polymers (F PO ) fit the Fineman-Ross plot well to determine the monomer reactivity ratios. The linear dependencies of the T g 's of the polymers on the mole fractions of the third monomers (F CHO , F HO , and F BO ) were observed with the relationships of "T g (°C) = 81 Â F CHO þ 40", "T g (°C) = -62 Â F HO þ 38", and "T g (°C) = -27 Â F BO þ 38", respectively. The decomposition temperature of the resin increased when the third monomer was employed. The GPC data indicated that the polymer chains grew in an immortal passion from four 2,4-dinitrophenolates as well as the two 2,4-dinitrophenols in 1. High molecular weights (M n ) above 200 000 were attainable because of the high activities.

Regioselective partial hydrogenation of tricyclopentadiene (TCPD) was achieved with a high turnover number of 10 000 by catalysis with a N-heterocyclic carbene-palladium complex. Copolymerization of ethylene and the partially hydrogenated product, dihydrotricyclopentadiene (HTCPD), was realized using a catalytic system of [8-The copolymer was unambiguously characterized through the analysis of one-and two-dimensional NMR spectra. The monomer reactivity ratios, r ethylene and r HTCPD , determined through the Fineman-Ross plot, were 2.8 and 0.025, respectively, indicating negligible successive insertion of two HTCPD. A nearly alternating copolymer with a HTCPD content of 45 mol % was obtained with a satisfactory activity (4.7 Â 10 6 g/(mol Ti h)), of which T g was 177 °C, significantly higher than that of norbornene/ethylene copolymer at the same cycloolefin content. Tensile stress-strain curves indicated that the brittleness observed for a high-T g norbornene/ethylene copolymer was relieved to show some ductile property for the HTCPD/ethylene copolymer of the same level of high T g .