Mechanism of Initiation Stereocontrol in Polymerization of rac-Lactide by Aluminum Complexes Supported by Indolide–Imine Ligands

The solid state and fluxional behaviors in solution of complexes L2AlOBn and L7AlOBn (Bn = benzyl) supported by an analog of salen incorporating indolide arms connected via their 2- and 7-positions were defined by experiment and theory. The complexes catalyze the stereoselective conversion of rac-lactide (rac-LA) to isotactically enriched polylactide. A key aspect of the stereocontrol was examined through study of the initiation reactions via NMR spectroscopy, X-ray crystal structures of the ring-opened products, and theory. The results include the first unambiguous structural definition of stereocontrol in ring-opening of LA by a metal–alkoxide complex and the finding that definition of the stereochemistry of initiation by the studied system is governed thermodynamically rather than kinetically.