13C NMR study on the mechanism of stereoselective polymerization of methyloxirane catalyzed by a model compound for enantiomorphic catalysts

The reaction of [Zn(OCH3)2·(C2H5ZnOCH3)6] (1) with methyloxirane was investigated by 13C NMR spectroscopy. Complex 1 was assumed to be a model compound for enantiomorphic catalyst sites in the stereoselective polymerization of methyloxirane by organozinc catalyst. Complex 1 was found to retain its structural feature, determined by X‐ray diffraction, even after the propagation reaction had proceeded. Based on 13C NMR studies of the polymerization reaction in terms of spin‐lattice relaxation and signal intensity analysis, the mechanism of the stereoselective polymerization of methyloxirane by the chiral catalyst sites was discussed at molecular level in reference to the enantiomorphic structure of complex 1.