Catecholate derivatives of zirconocene: Facile methylation of a catecholate ring

Abstract Reaction of [Cp'2ZrMe2] (Cp' = η5-tBuC5H4) with 3,6-di-tert-butylcatechol (H2Cat36) leads to complex [Cp'2ZrCat36] (1). Analogous reaction of [Cp'2ZrMe2] with 3,6-di-tert-butyl-o-benzoquinone (Q36) results in migration of the methyl group from metal to the C6-ring and formation of a complex of 3-tert-butyl-6-methyl-catecholate [Cp'2ZrCat36Me] (2). Both products were characterized with single crystal X-ray diffraction and NMR spectroscopy.