Potassium Aluminyl Promoted Carbonylation of Ethene

The potassium aluminyl [K{Al(NONDipp)}]2 ([NONDipp]2−=[O{SiMe2NDipp}2]2−, Dipp=2,6-iPr2C6H3) activates ethene towards carbonylation with CO under mild conditions. An isolated bis-aluminacyclopropane compound reacted via of an Al−C bond, followed by intramolecular hydrogen shift to form K2[Al(NONDipp)(μ-CH2CH=CO-1κ2C1,3-2κO)Al(NONDipp)Et]. Restricting the chemistry a mono-aluminium system allowed isolation [Al(NONDipp)(CH2CH2CO-κ2C1,3)]−, which undergoes thermal isomerisation [Al(NONDipp)(CH2CH=CHO-κ2C,O)]− anion. DFT calculations highlight stabilising influence incorporated benzene at multiple steps in reaction pathways.