A tetranuclear Sn(IV) 4-thiazolecarboxylate complex: synthesis, structure and catalytic behavior in the bulk ring-opening polymerization of glycolide

Abstract

Abstract The reaction of 4-thiazolecarboxylic acid (Htzc) and dimethyltin(IV) dichloride with NaOH in mixed MeOH-H2O solvent led to the formation of a new Sn(IV) complex (Me2Sn)4(μ 3-O)2(tzc)4 (1). Its structure has been characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy and single crystal and powder X-ray diffraction. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction revealed that complex 1 crystallizes in the monoclinic P21/c space group with Z = 2 and has a tetranuclear structure with crystallographically imposed centrosymmetry. The as-synthesized complex 1 was found to be active toward the bulk solvent-free polymerization of glycolide, producing poly(glycolic acid) with a number-average molecular weight up to 55.5 kDa.