Reactivity of a syn-bimetallic pentalene titanium complex: synthesis of alkyl complexes and related adducts

The introductory chapter of this thesis shall discuss the structure, binding modes and practical application of the pentalene ligand in organometallic chemistry. The synthesis and properties of the bimetallic titanium pentalene compound [Ti(µ:?5,?5-Pn†)]2 1.1 shall be focused upon in particular, as this compound is an important component of many of the experiments performed in this work. Examples of established transition metal cyclopentadienyl complex chemistry will also be discussed with a view to how the rationale behind these reactions may be applied to further the field of pentalene chemistry. The second chapter of this thesis focuses entirely upon the dehydrogenation of amineboranes, a process that 1.1 was found to catalyse. A discussion of the significance of this reaction and its real world applications will be presented, followed by a brief summary of existing catalytic species reported in the literature. The characterisation data obtained for a novel pentalene complex isolated from the reaction mixture will be analysed in detail. Chapter Three describes the synthesis of a variety of titanium pentalene metal halide compounds with the objective of providing synthetic precursors for the isolation of further novel pentalene compounds. Efforts expended towards the optimisation of these synthetic routes shall also be discussed. Chapter Four chronicles the further development of the chemistry discussed in Chapter Three, with the targeted synthesis of pentalene titanium metal alkyl complexes from pentalene titanium halides. The characterisation of these compounds, their stability and their reactivity is documented. Chapter Five provides a summary of reactions performed between compound 1.1 and neutral L-type ligands. Highlights include the reaction of 1.1 with ethylene, butadiene and xylylisocyanide.