A Remarkably Facile Zirconium(IV) → Aluminum(III) β-Diketiminate Transmetalation That Also Results in a More Active Olefin Polymerization Catalyst upon Activation

(R-IAN)2ZrX2 complexes, where X = NMe2,
Cl, have recently emerged as effective olefin polymerization precatalysts bearing chiral ligands formally of the
β-diketimine class. An attempt to exchange dimethylamido ligands for alkyl (methyl) using the Jordan
protocol resulted in a surprisingly facile transmetalation
of the bidentate Me-IAN ligands from zirconium(IV) to
aluminum(III). An initial study of the process and the
finding that the (R-IAN)AlMe2 complexes that result are
more potent precatalysts themselves provide a case study
within the rapidly growing area of catalysis based on
β-diketiminate metal complexes.