Ring-Opening of Oxiranes using Taeniolite-Supported Tris(β-Diketonato)Zirconium

Yessi Permana^1, Nobuyuki Ichikuni² & Shogo Shimazu²

¹Inorganic & Physical Chemistry Research Division, Institut Teknologi Bandung,
Jl. Ganesha 10, Bandung, Jawa Barat 40132, Indonesia
²Department of Applied Chemistry and Biotechnology, Chiba University,
1-33 Yayoi, Inage, Chiba 263-8522, Japan
Email: yessi@chem.itb.ac.id

Abstract. A series of tris(β-diketonato)zirconium(IV) complexes were immobilized into a synthetic clay structure of Taeniolite by an ion-exchange method to generate organic/inorganic hybrid compounds. The hybrid compound served as a good catalyst for ring-opening reactions of methyl, ethyl, and dimethyl oxiranes with various alcohols to generate primary alkoxy alcohols in appreciable selectivity. This method described a technique to immobilize cationic zirconium complexes without losing selectivity. 

Keywords: β-alkoxyalcohols; oxiranes; ring-opening; Taeniolite; tris(β-diketonato)zirconium.