a theoretical investigation of the structure and function of mao (methylaluminoxane) eva zurek,...
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A Theoretical Investigation of the Structure and Function of MAO
(Methylaluminoxane)
Eva Zurek, University of Calgary
AlO
O
OAl
Al
AlO
Al
Al
O
O
O
O
Al
O
Al
Al
Al
AlO
O
OAl
Computational Details• DFT Calculations: performed with ADF 2.3.3 and 2000• Functional: LDA along with gradient corrected exchange functional of Becke;
correlation functional of Perdew• Basis-set: double- STO basis with one polarization function for H, C, Al, O; triple-
STO basis with one polarization function for Zr• Frequencies: single-point numerical differentiation • Molecular Mechanics: UFF2 parameterized to give entropies/enthalpies which agreed
with those obtained from ADF• Solvation: COnductor-like Screening Model (COSMO)• NMR Chemical Shifts: triple- STO basis with two polarization functions for H and C;
Gauge Including Atomic Orbitals (GIAO)• Transition States: geometry optimizations along a fixed reaction coordinate. TS where
gradient less than convergence criteria
Catalysis
• K. Ziegler (1953) & G. Natta (1954); Nobel Prize in 1963
• Annual production of polyolefins is a hundred million tons (2001)
• 1/3 of the polymers made today are by Ziegler/Natta catalysis
• Polyethylene is the most popular plastic in the world
• Grocery bags, shampoo bottles, children’s toys, bullet proof vests (Kevlar), …
• Goal: to control MW, stereochemistry
• Single site catalysts: narrow MW distribution; higher stereoselectivity; higher activity
• Allow detailed structural & mechanistic studies
Single-Site Homogeneous Catalysis
• Catalysts: L1L2MR1R2; L=Cp, NPR3, NCR2; M=Ti, Zr, R=methyl, propyl, etc.
• Co-Catalyst (Anion): B(C6F5)3, MAO (Methylaluminoxane)
• MAO + Cp2Zr(CH3)2 Cp2ZrCH3+ + MAOMe-
Zr+
CH3
Zr+
CH3
Zr+
CH3
Insertion Transition Stateπ-complexSeparated Species
Zr+
CH3
Product
C2H4, olefin
MAODoes not crystallize
Gives complicated NMR
Industrially, one of themost important co-catalysts
MAO is formed from controlled hydrolysis of TMA (trimethylaluminum)
Why is an excess ofMAO necessary for
polymerization? (Al/Zr > 1000)
MAO is a ‘Black Box’
‘Pure MAO’
• presence of different oligomers and multiple equilibria:
(AlOMe)x (AlOMe)y (AlOMe)z
• Experimental data suggests that x,y,z range between 9-30; 14-20
O
Al O
Al
Me
Me
O
Al
O
Al
O
Al
Me
MeMe
O
Al
O Al
O
Al
OAl
Me
Me
Me
Me
Cyclic Structures
Al
Me
OMe2AlO AlMe2
n
Linear Structure
O
Al
O
Al
O
Al
O
Al
O
Al
Al
O
Me
Me Me
MeMe
Fused Ring Structure
AlO
Al
OAl
O
AlO
Al
OAl
O
MeMe
Me
Me
Me
Me
Cage Structures
• Three-dimensional cage structures, consisting of square, hexagonal and octagonal faces
• Four-coordinate Al centers bridged by three-coordinate O atoms
• [MeAlO]n, where n ranges between 4-16
• ADF calculations were performed on 35 different structures
Octagonal Face
Square Face
Hexagonal Face
Four-coordinate Al
Three-coordinate O
Four-coordinate Al
Three-coordinate O
Structural Investigation
Constructing the Cages
Schlegel Diagram 3-D Representation
• The order of stability is, 3H > 2H+S > H+O+S > 2O+S > 2H+O > 2S+H > 2S+O > 3S > 2O+H
• Structures composed of square and hexagonal faces only have the lowest energies for a given n
• SF = OF + 6
-2 octagonal; 8 square faces-16 atoms (2S+O) -Energy -6037.87kcal/mol
-2 octagonal; 8 square faces-4 (3S); 8 (2S+O); 4 (2O+S)-Energy -6028.60kcal/mol
-4 hexagonal; 6 square faces-8 (2S+H); 8 (2H+S)-Energy -6070.48kcal/mol
MAO Cage Energies
Entropies & Enthalpies
• UFF2 (Universal Force Field) parametrized for (AlOMe)4 and (AlOMe)6
• Tested on two different (AlOMe)8 oligomers
• ZPE differs by up to 1.27 kcal/mol; entropy by up to 1.39 kcal/mol (298.15K)
-755.00
-750.00
-745.00
-740.00
-735.00
-730.00
-725.00
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
n
Gibbs Free Energy Per Monomer (kcal/mol)
298.15
598.15
398.15
198.15
Gibbs Free Energy per (AlOMe) Unit
0.00
5.00
10.00
15.00
20.00
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30
n
Percentage
298.15398.15198.15598.15
Percent Distribution
average unit formula of (AlOMe)18.41, (AlOMe)17.23 , (AlOMe)16.89, (AlOMe)15.72 at 198K, 298K, 398K and 598K
• Free TMA ((AlMe3)2) is always present in a MAO solution
• TMA and ‘pure’ MAO react with each other according to the following equilibrium
(AlOMe)n + m/2(TMA)2 (AlOMe)n•(TMA)m
• Difficult to measure amount of bound TMA. Estimates give Me/Al of 1.4 ~ 1.5
‘Real’ MAO
+1/2(TMA)2
ΔE = -13.06kcal/mol
O: 3S
Al: 2S+H
O: 2S+H
Al: 3S
Variables Characterizing the Most Lewis Acidic
Site for (AlOMe)n
n Al environment O environment Bond Broken
6 2S+H 2S+H s-s
7 2S+H 3S s-s
8 2S+H 2S+H s-s
9 2H+S 2S+H s-h
10 2S+H 2S+H s-s
11 2S+H 2S+H s-s
13 2S+H 2S+H s-s
Reactive Sites in MAO
ΔG(n,m) for Reaction of (AlOMe)n with m2
(TMA)2 at 298.15K
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
20
6 7 8 9 10 11 13
n
Δ ( , ) ( / )G n m kcal mol
1/2 ( )2TMA( )2TMA3/2 ( )2TMA2 ( )2TMA
Temp (K) Me/Al AlTMA/Altot (%) Average Unit
Formula
% (AlOMe)12
198.15 1.00 0.21 (AlOMe)18.08•(TMA)0.04 15.27298.15 1.01 0.62 (AlO )Me 17.04•(TMA)0.11 19.05
398.15 1.02 1.05 (AlO )Me 15.72•(TMA)0.17 18.92
598.15 1.03 1.76 (AlO )Me 14.62•(TMA)0.26 16.56
• Most abundant species at every temperature still (AlOMe)12
• Increasing temperature shifts equilibrium towards slightly smaller structures
• Experimentally obtained ratio of Me/Al ~1.4 or 1.5 not obtained
Equilibrium Including TMA (1mol/L)
+1/2(TMA)2
-14.17kcal/mol
-6.56kcal/mol
+
-23.15kcal/mol
+1/2(TMA)2
+
Interaction Between MAO, TMA and THF
O
Al
O
Al
O
Al
Al
O
Al O
AlO
Al
O
Al
Al
O O
Al
O
AlO
AlO
Al
O
AlO O
Al
Al
O
Al
OO
Al
OAl
O
Al
Al
O
Al
O
Al
O
O Al
OAl
O
Al
OO
Al
Al
O
Al
O
O Al
AlO
Al
Al
OAl
OAl
O
Al
Al
O
Al
O Al
O
O
AlO
AlAl
O
O
Al
Al
O
OAl
Al
AlO
O
O
AlO
Al
OAl
O
AlO
Al
OAl
O
Al
O
Al
O
Al
OAl Al
OO
O
Al Al
O
Al
Al
Al
OO
Al
O O
(AlOMe)6 (AlOMe)7 (AlOMe)8
(AlOMe)9 (AlOMe)10 (AlOMe)11
(AlOMe)13
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
**
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
0.01%, 0.06% 0.01%, 0.00% 0.22%, 0.81%
1.22%, 2.22% 0.13%, 0.61% 2.36%, 1.17%
2.02%, 1.26%
Reactive MAO Cages
• Species I: a weak complex
• Species II: binuclear complex contact ion-pair
• Species III: heterodinuclear complex contact ion pairs/similar separated ion pairs (possibly active)
• Species IV: unsymmetrically Me-bridged complex (possibly dormant)
ZrMe
MeIV
AlMAO
+
-
ZrMe
MeAl
Me
Me
III
MeMAO
+
-
ZrMe
Me
Zr
Me
II
MeMAO
+
-
ZrMe
MeI
AlMAO
‘Real’ MAO and Cp2ZrMe2
Testing the Method
δexp δcalcΔδ
13C (Cp) 109.11 111.65 2.541H (Cp) 5.64 6.12 0.4813C (Me) 29.26 32.47 3.211H (Me) -0.15 -0.08 0.07
δexp δcalcΔδ
μ-Me 13C -5.34 -5.80 -0.46
μ-Me 1H -0.005 0.53 0.53
terminal 13C -8.025 -9.46 -1.44
terminal 1H -0.535 -0.64 -0.10
Chemical Shifts, ppm
Chemical Shifts, ppm
δexp Integration exp δcalc Integration calc
13C (Cp) 112.0 10 115.83 101H (Cp) 5.7 10 6.67 1013C (Zr-Me) 29.5a) 1 42.33 11H (Zr-Me) - - 0.66 313C (μ-Me) 29.5a) 1 13.41 11H (μ-Me) - - 0.50 313C average* N/A N/A 27.87 2C1H average* N/A N/A 0.58 6Ha) only one band with double intensity revealed
* Corresponds to average chemical shift of Zr-Me and μ-Me for 13C
and 1H
The Weakly Interacting SpeciesChemical Shifts, ppm
δexp Integration exp δcalc Integration calc
13C (Cp) 115.73 10C 113.60 10C1H (Cp) 5.5 10H 6.35 10H13C (Zr-Me) - - 41.7 1C1H (Zr-Me) - - 0.41 3H13C (μ-Me) 38.07 2C 19.38 1C1H (μ-Me) -0.27 6H 0.07 3H13C (Al-Me) -6.00 2C -1.21 2C1H (Al-Me) -0.58 6H -0.47 6H13C average* N/A N/A 30.54 2C1H average* N/A N/A 0.24 6H* Corresponds to average chemical shift of Zr-Me and μ-Me for 13C
and 1H
The ‘Active’ SpeciesChemical Shifts, ppm
δexp Integration exp δcalc Integration calc
13C (Cp) 113.90 10 115.78 101H (Cp) 5.70 10 6.40 1013C (Zr-Me) 42.00 1 46.77 11H (Zr-Me) - - 0.38 313C (μ-Me) 9.00 1 - -1H (μ-Me) - - - -
The ‘Dormant’ SpeciesChemical Shifts, ppm
+ Cp2ZrMe2
+ 1/2(Al2Me6)
-12.32 kcal/mol, t
-16.12 kcal/mol, t
-16.64 kcal/mol, t
0 kcal/mol
-13.06 kcal/mol, g
-16.88 kcal/mol, g
-16.58 kcal/mol, g
*g=gas phase t=toluene solution
+1/2 (Al2Me6)
Formation of ‘Dormant’, ‘Active’ Species
Possible Mechanisms‘Dissociative’ Mechanism
‘Associative’ Mechanism
M+
π-complex
A-
M+
R
A-
M+
R
Insertion Transition State
Uptake TransitionState
Separated Species
A-
R
M+
A-
R
M+
π-complex
A-
RM+
R
A-
M+ R
A-
M+
A-
R
Insertion Transition State
Uptake Transition State
Separated Species
First Insertion: ‘Dormant’ Species
Zr-O: 3.658
Zr-O: 4.539
Cis-Attack
Trans-Attack
Zr-O: 4.209
Zr-O: 3.336
Transition StateΔEgas= 38.80 kcal/molΔEtoluene= 35.55 kcal/mol
π-complexΔEgas= 31.88 kcal/molΔEtoluene= 28.43 kcal/mol
π-complexΔEgas= 34.65 kcal/molΔEtoluene= 26.96 kcal/mol
Transition StateΔEgas= 35.37 kcal/molΔEtoluene= 29.26 kcal/mol
First Insertion: ‘Active’ Species
Cis-Attack
Trans-Attack
Zr-Me: 3.999 Zr-Me: 4.108
π-complexΔEgas= 20.73 kcal/molΔEtoluene= 16.22 kcal/mol
Transition StateΔEgas= 21.87 kcal/molΔEtoluene= 17.00 kcal/mol
Transition StateΔEgas= 16.63 kcal/molΔEtoluene= 18.36 kcal/mol
π-complexΔEgas= 14.97 kcal/molΔEtoluene= 12.32 kcal/mol
Zr-Me: 3.938 Zr-Me: 2.501
Second Insertion: ‘Active’ Species
Transition StateΔEgas= 22.29 kcal/molΔEtoluene= 24.11 kcal/mol
Transition StateΔEgas= 21.26kcal/molΔEtoluene= 16.40 kcal/mol
π-complexΔEgas= 14.77 kcal/molΔEtoluene= 9.13 kcal/mol
Zr-Me: 2.517
Zr-Me:4.658
Second Insertion: ‘Active’ Species
π-complexΔEgas= 18.70 kcal/molΔEtoluene= 13.69 kcal/mol
Zr-Me: 4.161
16.00
16.50
17.00
17.50
18.00
18.50
19.00
19.50
20.00
2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8
Cα-C ethylene ( )Distance Angstroms
(AlOMe)6(TMA)(Cp2ZrMeProp) + C2H4 Trans Attack; - agostic Interactions; Insertion Profile
• In order for polymerization to occur, an excess of MAO is needed (typical conditions Al/Zr 1000 - 10,000)
• Most stable ‘pure’ MAO species do not contain strained acidic bonds and therefore do not react with TMA
• For example, (AlOMe)12, ~19% at 298.15 K
• [Cp2ZrMe]+[MeMAO]- is dormant
• [Cp2ZrMe]+[AlMe3MeMAO]- is active
• The same feature which makes a cage structure less stable is the same that makes it catalytically active!!!
Why is an Excess of MAO Necessary?
Conclusions
• MAO consists of 3D cage structures with square and hexagonal faces
• Very little TMA is bound to ‘pure’ MAO; most exists as the dimer in solution
• Basic impurities in MAO can influence the equilibrium
• Identified most likely structures for ‘dormant’ and ‘active’ species in polymerization
• First insertion: cis-approach has an associated TS; trans-approach has a dissociated TS
• First insertion: trans-approach has lower insertion barrier
• Second insertion: trans-approach, α-agostic interaction has no insertion barrier. An uptake barrier needs to be found
• Future Work: - to finish calculating uptake & insertion barriers for the second insertion; examine
termination barriers. Do the anion & cation associate after insertion?
• Acknowledgements:
- Tim Firman, Tom Woo, Robert Cook, Kumar Vanka, Artur Michalak, Michael Seth, Hans Martin Senn and other members of the Ziegler Research Group for their help and fruitful discussions
- Dr. Clark Landis, University of Wisconsin for giving us UFF2
- Novacor Research and Technology (NRTC) of Calgary ($$$)
- NSERC ($$$)
- Alberta Ingenuity Fund ($$$)
Miscellaneous
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