Investigation of Dienophile−TiCl₄ Complexation by Means of X-ray Absorption and ¹³C-NMR Spectroscopies

Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) and X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) techniques, in combination with (13)C-NMR spectroscopy, have been used to study the complexation of methyl acrylate (1), N-acryloylbenzylamine (2), O-acryloyl-(R)-pantolactone (3), methyl N-acryloyl-(S)-prolinate (4), and methyl N-acryloyl-(S)-phenylalaninate (5) with excess TiCl(4) in solution. The results obtained show that TiCl(4) has a great tendency to coordinate with two ester ligands, but this tendency is not so marked with amides, which is related to the greater basicity of the latter. Complexation increases the Ti-Cl bond distance, in comparison with TiCl(4), which is clearly shown by the EXAFS spectra. Chelate complexes are formed with bidentate ligands, but comparison between the EXAFS spectra, obtained with different TiCl(4)/dienophile ratios, shows that chelation is more difficult with methyl N-acryloyl-(S)-phenylalaninate (5).