(Imido)vanadium(v)-alkyl, -alkylidene complexes exhibiting unique reactivity towards olefins and alcohols

Abstract

This minireview introduces recent results in the synthesis of a series of (imido)vanadium(V)-alkyl complexes, and some reactions with alcohols (phenols) that are proposed to proceed via intermediates involving coordination of the alcohols (phenols). (Imido)vanadium(V)-alkylidene complexes, prepared by α-hydrogen elimination in the presence of a neutral donor ligand (PMe₃, etc.), exhibited high activity for ring-opening metathesis polymerisation of cyclic olefins (norbornene) even at high temperature; these are promising for olefin metathesis by vanadium complex catalysts.