Synthesis of cyclopentadienyl metal coordination complexes from metal hydrocarbyloxides

A process for preparing a metal dihydrocarbyl coordination complex corresponding to the formula:

• ##STR16## wherein:
• M is titanium;
• Cp* is a cyclopentadienyl group bound in an .eta..sup.5 bonding mode to M or such a cyclopentadienyl group substituted with from one to four substituents selected from the group consisting of hydrocarbyl, silyl, germyl, halo, hydrocarbyloxy, amino, and mixtures thereof, said substituent having up to 20 nonhydrogen atoms, or optionally, two substituents together cause Cp* to have a fused ring structure;
• Z is a divalent moiety comprising boron, or a member of Group 14 of the Periodic Table of the Elements, and optionally sulfur or oxygen, said moiety having up to 50 non-hydrogen atoms, and optionally Cp* and Z together form a fused ring system;
• Y is a) a divalent anionic ligand group comprising nitrogen, phosphorus, oxygen or sulfur and having up to 20 non-hydrogen atoms, said Y being bonded to Z and M through said nitrogen, phosphorus, oxygen or sulfur, and optionally Y and Z together form a fused ring system, or b) a cyclopentadienyl group bound in an .eta..sup.5 bonding mode to M or such a cyclopentadienyl group substituted with from one to four substituents selected from the group consisting of hydrocarbyl, silyl, germyl, halo, hydrocarbyloxy, amino, and mixtures thereof, said substituent having up to 20 nonhydrogen atoms, or optionally, two substituents together cause Y to have a fused ring structure;
• and
• R"' independently each occurrence is a hydrocarbyl group;
• the process comprising contacting in the presence of an aprotic organic diluent a metal coordination complex of formula:
• ##STR17## wherein R independently each occurrence is a hydrocarbyl group having from 1 to 20 carbon atoms and Cp*, Z, Y, M, are as defined for formula (II);
• with a hydrocarbylation agent comprising a group 1, 2, 12 or 13 metal or metal derivative and at least one hydrocarbyl group R"', to form the metal dihydrocarbyl coordination complex of formula (II).