Syntheses, reactions, and ethylene polymerization of half-sandwich titanium complexes containing salicylbenzoxazole and salicylbenzothiazole ligands.

Half-sandwich titanium salicylbenzoxazole complexes CpTiLCl(2) 2a-2c [L = R-2-(benzo[d]xazol-2-yl)phenol (R = H (2a), R = 6-CH(3) (2b), R = 4-CH(3)-6-(t)Bu (2c)] and salicylbenzothiazole complexes CpTiLCl(2) 2d-2g [L = R-2-(benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)phenol (R = H (2d), R = 6-CH(3) (2e), R = 6-(t)Bu (2f), R = 4-Cl (2g)] were synthesized by the reaction of CpTiCl(3) with the sodium salts of their corresponding precursors. Complexes 2a-2g were fully characterized by (1)H and (13)C NMR spectra and elemental analyses. The molecular structures of 2a and 2b were determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction methods. When activated by excess methylaluminoxane (MAO) these half-sandwich titanium complexes showed moderate to high activities for ethylene polymerization and produced high molecular weight polyethylenes. The half-sandwich titanium salicylbenzoxazole complexes (2a-2c) exhibited higher activities, of up to 1.23 × 10(6) g PE mol Ti(-1) h(-1) for the 2b/MAO system, than those of their analogues, half-sandwich titanium salicylbenzothiazole complexes (2d-2g).