Single-Site Tetracoordinated Aluminum Hydride Supported on Mesoporous Silica. From Dream to Reality

The reaction of mesoporous silica (SBA15) dehydroxylated at 700 °C with diisobutylaluminum hydride, i-Bu2AlH, gives after thermal treatment a single-site tetrahedral aluminum hydride with high selectivity. The starting aluminum isobutyl and the final aluminum hydride have been fully characterized by FT-IR, advanced SS NMR spectroscopy (1H, 13C, multiple quanta (MQ) 2D 1H–1H, and 27Al), and elemental analysis, while DFT calculations provide a rationalization of the occurring reactivity. Trimeric i-Bu2AlH reacts selectively with surface silanols without affecting the siloxane bridges. Its analogous hydride catalyzes ethylene polymerization. Indeed, catalytic tests show that this single aluminum hydride site is active in the production of a high-density polyethylene (HDPE).