Abnormal N-heterocyclic carbene main group organometallic chemistry: a debut to the homogeneous catalysis

Abnormal N-heterocyclic carbene (aNHC) adducts of zinc(II) (1) and aluminum(III) (2) were synthesized. The compounds were characterized by NMR spectroscopy and elemental analysis. The solid state structures of these complexes (1 and 2) were determined by single crystal X-ray study. Furthermore, these organozinc and organoaluminum adducts (1 and 2) were tested for the ring opening polymerization of cyclic esters. These adducts were found to be quite efficient catalysts for the polymerization of cyclicesters such as rac-lactide (rac-LA), ε-caprolactone (ε-CL), and δ-valerolactone (δ-VL). Furthermore, aNHC zinc adduct has been used as catalyst for the synthesis of a tri-block copolymer.