Titanium and Zirconium Complexes of Preorganized Tripodal Triaryloxide Ligands

Tri(2-oxy-3,5-di-tert-butylphenyl)methane, [O₃]^3- has been used to prepare titanium and zirconium complexes of the general formula [O₃]MX (M = Ti, X = NEt₂, Cl, CH₂Ph; M = Zr, X = CH₂Ph). The tripodal [O₃] ligand in titanium complexes adopt the syn- and the anti-conformation, while the syn complex of zirconium undergoes facile C−H activation to give a 5-carbametalatrane [O₃C]Zr(THF)₃.