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Updated: Jan 30, 2026

Ethylene Polymerizations Using Parallel Pressure Reactors and a Kinetic Analysis of Chain Transfer Polymerization
Published on: November 27, 2015
Conversion of methane to ethylene using an Ir complex and phosphorus ylide as a methylene transfer reagent
Pavel Zatsepin1, Seihwan Ahn, Bimal Pudasaini
1University of Pennsylvania, Chemistry, 231 S. 34 Street, PA 19104-6323, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. mindiola@sas.upenn.edu.
Abstract:
Cp*(Me3P)Ir(CH3)(OTf), a complex known to reversibly activate CH4 and other hydrocarbons under mild conditions, reacts with the phosphorus ylide H2CPPh3 in THF to afford two major species [Cp*(Me3P)(Ph3P)Ir(CH2CH3)][OTf] and [Cp*(Me3P)Ir(H)(η2-CH2CH2)][OTf]. Insertion of the ylide methylene group can also occur with Cp*(Me3P)Ir(Ph)(OTf) to afford the benzyl [Cp*(Me3P)(Ph3P)Ir(CH2Ph)][OTf]. Theoretical studies suggest the intermediacy of an Ir(iii)[double bond, length as m-dash]CH2 species.
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