Reactive surface species immobilized inside porous materials with suitably small windows can be studied by DNP SENS.

By grafting TaMe5 on Aerosil700, a stable, well-defined, silica-supported tetramethyl tantalum(V) complex, [(≡SiO)TaMe4], is obtained on the silica surface. After thermal treatment at 150 °C, the complex is transformed into two surface tantalum methylidenes, [(≡SiO)2Ta(═CH2)Me] and [(≡SiO)Ta(═CH2)Me2], which are active in alkane metathesis and comparable to the previously reported [(≡SiO)2TaHx]. Here we present the first experimental study to isolate and identify a surface tantalum carbene as the intermediate in alkane metathesis. A systematic experimental study reveals a new reasonable pathway for this reaction.

Upon prolonged thermal exposure under vacuum, a well-defined single-site surface species [([triple bond, length as m-dash]Si-O-)Zr(NEt2)3] () evolves into an ethylimido complex [([triple bond, length as m-dash]Si-O-)Zr([double bond, length as m-dash]NEt)NEt2] (). Reactions of with an imine substrate result in imido/imine ([double bond, length as m-dash]NRi, R: Et, Ph) exchange (metathesis) with the formation of [([triple bond, length as m-dash]Si-O-)Zr([double bond, length as m-dash]NPh)NEt2] (). Compounds and effectively catalyze imine/imine cross-metathesis and are thus considered as the first heterogeneous catalysts active for imine metathesis.

The silica‐supported azazirconacyclopropane SiOZr(HNMe2)(η2‐NMeCH2)(NMe2) (1) leads exclusively under hydrogenolysis conditions (H2, 150 °C) to the single‐site monopodal monohydride silica‐supported zirconium species SiOZr(HNMe2)(NMe2)2H (2). Reactivity studies by contacting compound 2 with ethylene, hydrogen/ethylene, propene, or hydrogen/propene, at a temperature of 200 °C revealed alkene hydrogenation.

Grafting of Zr(NMe2)4 on mesoporous silica SBA-15 afforded selectively well-defined surface species [triple bond, length as m-dash]SiOZr(NMe2)(η2NMeCH2). 2D solid-state NMR ((1)H-(13)C HETCOR, Multiple Quantum) experiments have shown a unique structural rearrangement occurring on the immobilised zirconium bis methylamido ligand.