Ring‐opening polymerization of lactides initiated by magnesium and zinc complexes based on NNO‐tridentate ketiminate ligands: Activity and stereoselectivity studies

Four metal benzylalkoxides, [L(2)M(2)(mu-OBn)(2)] (M = Mg or Zn), based on NNO-tridentate ketiminate ligands are synthesized and characterized. X-ray crystal structural studies of [(L(1))(2)Mg(2)(mu-OBn)(2)] (1a) and [(L(1))(2)Zn(2)(mu-OBn)(2)] (1b) (L(1)-H = (Z)-4-((2-(dimethylamino)ethylamino)(phenyl)methylene)-3-methyl-1-phenyl-pyrazol-5-one) reveal that both complexes 1a and 1b are dinuclear species whereas the geometry around the metal center is penta-coordinated bridging through the benzylalkoxy oxygen atoms in the solid structure. The activities and stereoselectivities of these four complexes toward the ring-opening polymerization Of L-lactide and rac-lactide are investigated. Polymerization Of L-lactide initiated by these four metal benzyloxides proceeds rapidly with good molecular weight control and yields polymer with a very narrow molecular weight distribution. The kinetic studies for the polymerization of L-lactide with compound 1a show first order in both compound 1a and lactide concentrations with the polymerization rate constant, k, of 6.94 M/min. Besides, experimental results demonstrate that among these metal benzylalkoxides, complex 1a exhibits the highest stereoselectivity with a Pr up to 87% and complex 1b possesses the highest activity indicating that the terminal group of NNO-tridentate ketimine ligands exerts a significant influence on both the reactivity and stereoselectivity of these complexes. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 2318-2329, 2009