Bis(n,n-dihydrocarbylamino)-substituted cyclopentadienes and metal complexes thereof

A metal complex corresponding to the formula:

• wherein,
• M is a metal from one of Groups 3 to 13 of the Periodic Table of the Elements, the lanthanides or actinides, which is in the +2, +3 or +4 formal oxidation state,
• RA independently each occurrence is hydrogen, hydrocarbyl, halo-substituted hydrocarbyl, hydrocarbyloxy-substituted hydrocarbyl, dihydrocarbylamino-substituted hydrocarbyl, hydrocarbadiylamino, hydrocarbylsilyl, hydrocarbylsilylhydrocarbyl, or one of the forgoing groups that is substituted with one or more hydrocarbyloxy, hydrocarbylsiloxy, hydrocarbylsilylamino, di(hydrocarbylsilyl)amino, hydrocarbadiylamino, di(hydrocarbyl)amino, di(hydrocarbyl)phosphino, hydrocarbylsulfido, hydrocarbyl, halo-substituted hydrocarbyl, hydrocarbyloxy-substituted hydrocarbyl, hydrocarbylamino-substituted hydrocarbyl, hydrocarbylsilyl or hydrocarbylsilylhydrocarbyl groups having from 1 to 20 nonhydrogen atoms;
• RB and RC independently each occurrence are hydrocarbyl, hydrocarbylsilyl, halo-substituted hydrocarbyl, hydrocarbyloxy-substituted hydrocarbyl, di(hydrocarbyl)amino-substituted hydrocarbyl, hydrocarbylsilylhydrocarbyl, hydrocarbadiylamino, di(hydrocarbyl)amino, or hydrocarbyloxy, each RB and RC having from 1 to 80 atoms not counting hydrogen, and optionally being substituted with one or more groups which independently each occurrence are hydrocarbyloxy, hydrocarbylsiloxy, hydrocarbylsilylamino, di(hydrocarbylsilyl)amino, hydrocarbadiylamino, di(hydrocarbyl)amino, di(hydrocarbyl)phosphino, hydrocarbylsulfido, hydrocarbyl, hydrocarbylsilyl, hydrocarbylsilylhydrocarbyl, halo-substituted hydrocarbyl, hydrocarbyloxy-substituted hydrocarbyl, or hydrocarbylamino-substituted hydrocarbyl, said group having from 1 to 20 atoms not counting hydrogen, or two RB or two RC groups are covalently linked to form one or more fused rings;
• Z is a divalent moiety comprising boron, or a member of Group 14 of the Periodic Table of the Elements, and also comprising nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur or oxygen;
• X is an anionic or dianionic ligand group having up to 60 atoms exclusive of the class of ligands that are cyclic, delocalized, π-bound ligand groups;
• X′ independently each occurrence is a neutral Lewis base ligand having up to 20 atoms;
• p is zero, 1 or 2, and is two less than the formal oxidation state of M, when X is an anionic ligand;
• when X is a dianionic ligand group, p is 1;
• and
• q is zero, 1 or 2.