NOVEL ORGANIC-SOLUBLE MOLECULAR TITANOPHOSPHONATES WITH CAGE STRUCTURES COMPARABLE TO TITANIUM-CONTAINING SILICATES

Reactions of CpTiMe3 (Cp* = C5Me5) with methyl-, phenyl- and tert-but ylphosphonic acids [RP(O)(OH)(2)] (R = Me, Ph, t-Bu) yield the air-sta ble titanophosphonates [(CpTiO3PR)(4)(mu-O)(2)] (R = Me (1), Ph (2)) and [(CpTi)(3)(t-BuPO3)(2)(t-BuPO2(OH))(mu-O)(2)] (3), which are free ly soluble in organic solvents. Alternatively, the reaction between Cp TiCl3 and methylphosphonic acid was also found to produce 1. The tita nophosphonates mentioned are the first examples of organic-soluble mol ecular transition metal phosphonate cages.