Chlorobis(pentafluorophenyl)alane: synthesis, crystal structure, and polymerization catalysis

Abstract Reaction of Al(C 6 F 5 ) 3 with 0.34 equiv CH 2 Cl 2 cleanly produces chlorobis(pentafluorophenyl)alane (C 6 F 5 ) 2 AlCl, the dimeric structure in the solid-state of which has been confirmed by X-ray diffraction studies. This chloroalane exhibits remarkable activity in polymerizations of styrene, e-caprolactone, and cyclohexene oxide.