Nucleophilic Character of a Charge Neutral, High Oxidation State d⁰ Zirconium Trimethylenemethane Complex

The nucleophilic character of a charge neutral, high oxidation d⁰ zirconium trimethylenemethane (TMM) class of compound of general structure Cp*Zr(TMM)[N(R)C(Me)N(R)], 1a (R¹ = R² = i-Pr) and 1b (R¹ = t-Bu, R² = Et), is presented through documentation of its reactivity with a range of alkyl and silyl halides and triflates, including unactivated ones such as ethyl triflate. These results should contribute to efforts directed toward expanding the synthetic chemist's toolbox of synthetic methods for the construction of complex organic molecules.